RIVENDELL
by Blind Squirrel
Summary: Takes place in Middle-Earth, PARALLELS the the book LOTR, but is it's own story.
1. The Quest

Title: Rivendell Author: Sony_Mouse Pairings: 1+2+1 Warnings: Fusion (or sorts), Tolkien LOTR Characters (more of the REALLY side characters), Archives:GWA (if you want my fic, you can have it, just tell me where you're site is)  
  
Author's Note: LORD OF THE RINGS FANS!!!!!! COME ONE, COME ALL. I bring ye a fic of such magnitude that PETER JACKSON himself will do a movie adaptation; that J.R.R TOLKIEN himself would praise me..... Well not really, but it's fun to think he would. This fic takes place in the first book while Gandolf is off searching for Gollum with Aragorn. This is a SIDE story to LOTR, so the only characters who get involved are familiar characters from Rivendell BEFORE all the action starts. (eg: Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir, Glorfindel, ect). This story has little to nothing to do with the 'ring'. It only takes place during the same time.  
  
If you are NOT a fan of LOTR, DO NOT WORRY. This fic is first and foremost a store about Duo and Heero. So I'll try hard not to lose you in Tolkien's world.  
  
  
  
Chapter 1: The Quest!  
  
WHEN THIS TAKES PLACE? (if you must know...): During the beginning of Book 1 of Fellowship of the Rings when Gandolf the grey, a Wizard of old, has just left Frodo alone in the shire after Bilbo has left. Gandolf suspects something about the ring, and goes off to see if his suspicions are correct. IN THE BOOK, he meets up with Aragorn to track down the creature Gollum. DURING this time, evil begins to take over more and more of the far off lands. The FIRST people to notice this are RANGERS. Rangers are dark mysterious men, who spend their days and nights keeping danger away from others, and travelling throughout the land to seek out this day.  
  
This story PARALLELS, but never really intersects with the action of the books.  
  
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The guard of the great entrance to Rivendell, home of the Lord Elrond, stood gazing out into the early morning mist that surrounded the trees. The sun was just beginning to creep its way out of the dark. It gave one the feeling of a new day being born. Even someone who'd seen a thousand such mornings could never grow tired of such a sight.  
  
Despite his duty to watch guard, it was hard for the young Elf not to be distracted by such a beautiful site. Even the air felt fresher as he breathed in the sweet morning essence. Rivendell truly was a place of wonder.  
  
Under normal circumstances, any Elf could hear the sound of the lightest animal taking small steps from far away. But as the guard was so entirely distracted this morning, he did not hear the sound of horse galloping until it came out in plain view from the forest.  
  
This development made the guard irritable at once, almost destroying his earlier good mood.  
  
What completely sent him over the edge was when he saw that it was not even an Elf, but a MAN, and not just any man, a Ranger at that.  
  
The guard tensed up, as elves seldom do, and glared at the approaching human as much as his concealing helmet would allow.  
  
By now the guard could clearly see the Ranger, noticing at once how tired and ragged he looked, and finding that he cared even less. The man wore a black cloak he kept wound around his body for warmth in the chilly morning air, and rode on a black horse that was breathing heavenly from the exertion.  
  
Holding out his spear to the unwelcome visitor, the guard tried to look as menacing as a young Elf could. .  
  
"Halt stranger, and advance no further to be recognized."  
  
The Ranger lifted up his head to glare back at the Elf, his dark hair falling in his face to cover up his intensive eyes.  
  
"I come with urgent news for the Lord of this Elf-House, and seek out one of its members. I have no time to play your childish games."  
  
This managed to anger the Elf even more.  
  
"My games are the only thing that's keeping you alive Human. Now state who you are before I am forced take you prisoner."  
  
The Elf guard had never seen a Ranger laugh, in fact he'd only ever met one other Ranger before in his lifetime. But he was sure, if Rangers could laugh, this one would be doing so now.  
  
The Ranger made no move to introduce himself, more out of stubbornness by now, and seemed all the more irritated by the Elf's malice towards him.  
  
Just to show the Human who was in charge of the situation, the guard thrust his spear forward at the Ranger in a warning gesture.  
  
The blade didn't even get the chance to get close to the man before the guard felt a sword at his throat. The dark blue eyes filled his vision, promised to kill him if he took even a single breath.  
  
The situation may have gotten worse, for both Man and Elf, if a pleasant, light peel of laughter hadn't been heard from behind the guard. It was Lord Elrond's son, Elrohir, finding great amusement in his guard's defeat.  
  
"Duo, you must have put your foot in your mouth more so than usual for you to end up in this unlikely mess."  
  
Immediately the Ranger lifted the sword from the guard's neck, and placed it back in it's sheath. He then bowed low before the young lord.  
  
"Kind Elf, I bring urgent news for the Lord of this Elf-House. Enough of my time has been wasted with your youthful and inexperienced guard." This just set off another round of laughing from Elrohir.  
  
"Come Ranger, I will take you immediately to my father, while my 'youthful and inexperienced' guard leaves to warn the kitchen staff of your arrival." He then turned to face the guard, a mock scowl on his face. "Duo, you should know better, the Rangers are friends of ours, and have been for some time."  
  
The young guard just looked down at his feet, feeling chastised, but angrier still at the Human. "Maybe to this house, but Men are no friends of mine."  
  
A reluctant understanding seemed to pass between the two elves, leaving the Ranger completely in the dark. Then just as quickly as it had been there, it was gone, replaced by the joyful voice of the young lord. "Come Ranger, we shall go quickly to my father."  
  
They then left, leaving the Duo to pick up his fallen spear, and seek out the kitchen. Not even the site of the sun making it's full entrance could cheer him up now.  
  
  
  
  
  
Elrohir had brought the Ranger before his father who now sat in his outside council room, with his councilman Glorfindel at his side, enjoying the new morning. The Ranger knelt to one leg and bowed his head towards the Elf who looked so young, but was indeed much older.  
  
The Lord Elrond looked to be about 40 in Human years, and had long black hair that cascaded down his back. It contrasted sharply with the long golden hair that Glorfindel wore loose down his own back. The Lord's ears, like with all elves, were pointed, and he wore a long robe, much like the one his son wore as well, but a different colour. His eyes were a bright blue, much the colour of the sea. Elrohir looked much the same, except he was younger, and his eyes were ghostly shade of grey that sparkled when he smiled.  
  
The Lord Elrond had lived through different ages, had even fought against Sauron in the past. He'd seen empires rise, and empires fall, and had even met with the Emperors who destroyed them. He'd fallen in love, had three children, and had even raised a human child, the very person that the Ranger now seeked.  
  
Lord Elrond now spoke in a kindly fashion. "Ranger, please stand, and tell me the news that brought you so far from your wandering area."  
  
The Ranger, who seemed to be a man of few words, nodded his head in compliance before standing up. "My name is Heero, and as you know, I am a Ranger from the West. I had not meant to trouble this Elf-House, nor any other, but I must find Aragorn at once."  
  
Mention of Aragorn, caused all elves present to listen even more intently.  
  
"What has Aragorn to do with your news?"  
  
"There are creatures from the West, in the southern parts of the places that I wander, who speak of dark things. I would not burden your house with it's meaning, but I must ask you to tell me where Aragorn can be found. He is a friend to a great Wizard who might be able to use the information I have for him."  
  
For a man of few words, it was quite obvious he was trying to get his point across. He needed to find Aragorn, and he needed to find him now.  
  
Lord Elrond nodded silently to himself before looking deep into the Ranger's eyes.  
  
"Ranger... no, Heero, you have come at an odd time, for Aragorn had gone South of these parts, and has taken Mithrandir, or as you call him, Gandolf the Grey, with him. Where they are now, we do not know, when they will return, we do not know. How you shall find him, well, only you know."  
  
The Ranger bowed in thanks. "Then I must leave at once. I thank you kind Elf-Lord." But before he could leave, Elrohir blocked the exit. Instinctively, Heero's hand went straight to the hilt of his sword, hidden under his dark cloak.  
  
Elrohir quickly explained his actions, fearing that the Ranger might take it the wrong way.  
  
"You are tired, and worn near ragged. As a host I cannot let you leave until you have at least rested the night, and eaten some supper, and morning breakfast for that matter. As a Ranger, you know the dangers that lie South of these lands. You need at least the night to give you some strength. It is the least we can do if do not plan to tell us what grave news you bear."  
  
The outside council room was silent after Elrohir had spoken, all that could be heard was the cheerful signing of the birds, and the wind as it passed through the trees.  
  
It looked like the Ranger was about to object, put some sort of argument forth, but changed his mind at the last minute. He suddenly looked wearier than even before.  
  
"You are right, I will stay the night." He said no more before sitting down. Glad for the chance to relax. He instantly felt the tension drain out of the courtyard-like-room as if someone had pulled a plug.  
  
The chatter from then on was amiable as Elrohir told a now silent Heero all the news they'd heard so far from the East. Although he didn't show it, this greatly interested Heero, as he'd never been out that way before.  
  
The light conversation was quickly interrupted when an upset looking young Elf walked quickly towards the council room. It took Heero a few minutes to comprehend what was happening, as the Elf looked exactly like Elrohir, but with perhaps a less jovial face.  
  
He walked right by his father and Glorfindel without a second glance, and ignored Elrohir altogether, going straight towards Heero.  
  
Before Heero could even blink, and Elven sword was thrust at his neck, stopping just in time to only nick the top layer of skin. The new Elf held it there, fully realizing that the Ranger had somehow managed to press a dagger against his rib in the same amount of time.  
  
"It was a grave mistake for you to come Ranger. You are like a plague on this house, and I know the cure."  
  
Seeing the dangerous look on his overly serious brother, Elrohir knew exactly what the problem was.  
  
"Elladan, this isn't about Duo is it?"  
  
"YES Elrohir, it is! He's so upset he won't even talk to me, or anyone else for that matter. He's storming around the kitchen, and refuses to leave until this Man has left. And I intend to make sure that happens as soon as possible."  
  
It was quite obvious, to anyone who had any sense, that this new Elf cared deeply for the young guard, for reasons that entirely escaped Heero's reasoning. If he never saw that impertinent, stubborn, foolish Elf again, he'd be a happier man by far. It also disturbed him a bit that this 'male' Elf seemed so interested in the 'male' guard. He hoped it was just platonic, but new better. This was just the sort of thing Humans joke about when they know nothing about Elves. And then to see that it was true... it disturbed Heero.  
  
He'd not gotten a good look at the young Elf guard's face before, seeing him only in his armour. He had looked slender and lithe, as all elves do, and had brown hair, similar to the many colours of dark sand, which escaped out of his helmet, and ran down his back, again nothing unusual for an Elf. His face had been almost completely coved up by the Elven helmet. Perhaps the only other thing he'd really noticed about the young guard was how slender and pale his exposed neck had looked against his heavy sword. He cursed Elves for looking like they should not be hurt in battle, when they were quite the skilled warriors.  
  
Looking back up at the Elf that now threatened him, Heero couldn't help but wonder if he was Elrohir's twin. They looked almost identical.  
  
It was the Lord Elrond who now spoke again.  
  
"Elladan, release our guest immediately. He will NOT be cast out of our house, no matter Duo's sensibilities."  
  
Very reluctantly, Elladan let the Ranger go, feeling the pressure of Heero's dagger leave him as he did so. Scowling, the young elf then mock bowed towards his father, handing his truly amazing sword to his brother.  
  
Elrohir took the sword and laid it down, standing up to introduce the gust. "Elladan, may I introduce to you, the Ranger Heero, who has travelled far to be with us this day."  
  
"I can not say I am pleased to meet you ranger, for only you have managed to make sweet Duo Voronwë act that way does now, who else but a Human." Then realizing what he had said he quickly turned to his father to apologize. "I am sorry father, I did not mean to insult all Humans, only this one who attacked Duo." His apology seemed gruff, yet sincere enough. It did nothing to make Heero like him any more. He couldn't believe the new Elf had managed to describe Duo as being anything similar to sweet.  
  
Trying to mend the damage, Elrohir attempted to continue the introduction. "Heero, this here is my brother Elladan. You must excuse his behaviour; he is usually the most levelled headed one out of all us, saving when a certain Elf is concerned." Elladan managed to glare skilfully at his brother; Elrohir simply ignored him and continued.  
  
"Early this morning I came to tell Duo that he was done his duties for the week and could now have some time off. I found him provoking the Ranger, and getting himself into a fight instead. I would have really reprimanded him for it had I not found it so funny to see him learn some manners." Elrohir started to laugh at the image again.  
  
Elladan scowled even more at his brother. "You do wrong to mock him, Elrohir! You know as well as I do how he feels about Humans, and Rangers are no exception to him."  
  
Again Heero felt confused by this, but he saw both brothers' drop the topic as soon as it had been said. It was not unusual for Elves to distrust Humans, in fact it was expected. But Rangers were usually more welcomed, trusted even, especially since Aragorn, a man raised by Elves, had become one himself. Yet, what Heero found so unusual was Duo's obvious hatred of him. It was unprovoked, and surely unwarranted.  
  
In the end it just made the Ranger dislike the young guard even more. He'd be happy to make the 'poor Elf Duo' happy by leaving this place early tomorrow morning.  
  
  
  
Unfortunately for both Heero and Duo, he had no such luck. There was a banquet held in the Ranger's honour that night, and Lord Elrond made it mandatory that all attend the festivities; this included the Elf Duo Voronwë.  
  
By the time most of the elves had shown up, Heero was positive that Duo was not from any of the Elven families of this area. All the Elves, save him, had long black hair, blond hair, golden hair, or even white hair, while Heero was sure he'd seen the young Elf with long brown hair. In fact, he was positive. All this meant was that Duo came from an Elven family in the Far West, or the Far East. Either way, what would he be doing in the House of Lord Elrond?  
  
The answer came to him sooner than he expected. It seemed that that the House of Elrond was in many ways what Humans might consider an Inn of sorts. The Elves were leaving this land, the land of Middle-Earth, for good. They'd been there long enough, and knew that it was time to slowly leave. Many of the older elves had already left, and many would always remain. Elves would travel West until they reached the ocean, where they would then set off to a land that Heero had never heard of before. The House of Elrond was considered some sort of 'last stop' before the ocean, while others called it home.  
  
There was no fee to stay, though you did have to help out with the work, and you could stay as long as you liked. Heero just assumed that Duo's family had probably left for the great somewhere out there, and he had chosen to stay behind as many of the younger Elves chose to do for the time being.  
  
This still left a lot of questions unanswered, but honestly had didn't feel the inclination, nor the need to start asking them.  
  
It was about this time in his musings that Duo Voronwë finally made his entrance. And what an entrance it was. From outside the door kicking and muffled screams could be heard, until suddenly a very angry looking Elf was pushed in through the door.  
  
This was odd right away because Elves DO NOT kick and scream. They are known throughout the land as very serene beings, purity running through their veins, wise beyond wise, loved by many.  
  
Yet perhaps this was only when they grew up, by the looks of it, the younger ones were still learning these traits. And in that case, Duo had a long way to go. Or so Heero thought until about five seconds latter and Duo's entire demeanour changed.  
  
As startled as he'd been to be pushed into the room, as soon as he saw the assembly looking straight at him, and turning around, he saw that his exit way barred by a very amused looking Elrohir, Duo lifted his head up high, and gracefully walked around the table to find an empty seat.  
  
All eyes were still on him, and how could they not be. He was beautiful, even by Elf standards, and that was saying a lot. He wore a robe spun from some sort of material akin to silk; its blue shade seemed to change depending on where the light hit it. His brown hair, which again reminded Heero of the dark sandy beaches, each strand a different shade, fell down in waves along his back. Part of his hair was tied up at the back, probably to keep out of his eyes, and his eyes... his eyes were the most beautiful shade of blue ever known to any creature of Middle-Earth. It far out shone the blue of even Lord Elrond's eyes.  
  
Heero was beginning to see why some Elves of the same sex might be attracted to each other. It was defiantly not something he hoped to see Humans doing any time soon, but he could understand the Elves a bit more.  
  
As Duo walked around the table it seemed as if he was stepping on air, most Elves had this affect while walking, put he put them all to shame.  
  
Despite his great dislike for the young Elf, Heero had to admit; he did know how to save his lost dignity when pushed into a room. Heero's kinds thoughts were however immediately cut off as soon as he saw Duo glaring at him from across the table. It was obvious he didn't want to be here, and that Heero was the reason for it.  
  
He had sat down next to Elladan, and Lord Elrond's daughter, the Lady Arwen. Heero had no idea what young Elladan was saying to Duo, but whatever it was, it wasn't distracting Duo, he just kept glaring at him.  
  
  
  
"Duo, you look lovely tonight, you even pulled you're hair out of you're eyes. I... I think it looks better like that." Duo was only half listening, most of his attention directed at the unwelcome guest. Had he paid more attention, he would have noticed he's usually very serious friend stuttering and acting much younger than his age.  
  
"I always wear it up when I'm on guard duty, I wasn't planning on coming this evening and had left it up."  
  
"Well it looks wonderful down too. I've just never had the chance to see it up before. And you're even dressed up. It's a lovely robe."  
  
"It's Elrohir's, he made me wear it. In fact, he made me come. He'll regret this, I don't care if he's Lord Elrond's son. I was once the son of a great family too... " Duo glared even harder at the cause of all his misery. "I hate that man Elladan. He has no right to be here. He is a Human, not even a friendly one. He is rude, and unwashed."  
  
"No, he bathed for the dinner"  
  
"Well he was unwashed when he attacked me."  
  
Elladan seemed to suddenly grow angry along with Duo; he'd almost forgotten that part. "You're right Duo, he did attack you. Father should make apologize."  
  
"NO!" Duo hissed. " I don't want to spend another second in his presence. I curse the day he came here, and rejoice the day he 's gone. The sooner the better."  
  
Elladan agreed wholeheartedly. The sooner he saw that wonderful carefree smile back on Duo's lovely face, the better. As long as the Heir of Voronwë was sad, or angry, it felt like a dark cloud had covered all of Rivendell for Elladan. He could not, would not be happy as long as Duo was miserable.  
  
  
  
Having someone who finally saw his view on things did indeed start to cheer Duo up slightly. He relaxed as the night wore on, and even forgot to glare at Heero while Elladan told him about the Orc hunting party he'd just returned from. Elladan was always going out killing Orcs; it was his obsession, Elrohir's too. Their mother had been kidnapped by Orcs, and by the time Lord Elrond had found her, she already been raped and tortured. She had never been the same after that, and soon left for the west, never to return. Elladan and Elrohir, were still young at the time, and never forgave the cruelty of Orcs. Elladan, the oldest of the twins, took it harder than even Elrohir, and for that reason, felt he understood Duo's hatred of Humans better than anyone else in the world.  
  
By the time Duo was finally starting to forget about Heero entirely, Lord Elrond stood up at the end of the table and called for everyone's attention.  
  
"Fellow Elves of every kind, and our guest Ranger, I thank you for coming tonight. We all live in sad times right now." Lord Elrond was referring to the Elves leaving the Middle-Earth. "But by celebrating, we make it seem as joyful as it ever was. Tonight is special for we have with us a Human guest who has travelled far to do Middle-Earth some good, I am sure. Rangers have spent generations watching over the peace of Middle-Earth, and deserve every kindness in return for their great deeds. It is my hope that we have made your quest even the tiniest bit easier by offering you refuge for that night." Heero nodded, showing that indeed they had. "But noble Ranger, we must ask that we do more for you. Although you will not share the secrets that you bear with us, I know in my heart it is of great importance. You have not travelled this Far East often, and I doubt you have traveled south of here at all. I beg that we be allowed to send with you someone who knows this land well. Who knows the unique dangers that wait for you, and who will be you're guide."  
  
At the word 'guide', Duo suddenly got very scared. He feared he knew where this was leading.  
  
"Before you say anything Ranger. The Elf I wish to send with you knows this land like very few, had he been human, I'm sure he would have made a fine Ranger."  
  
Despite the fact that Rangers were very solitary in nature, having an Elf as a guide was a very rare gift indeed. And it was true that he did not know these lands as well as he would have liked. When the Lord of the House of Elrond offers to send a guide with you, you do not easily refuse without good reason. "Then Lord Elrond, it would be an honour to have any of your Elves as my guide. I accept you're offer."  
  
Lord Elrond suddenly seemed very pleased with himself, and Duo groaned inwardly, feeling sick to the stomach, and somewhat faint.  
  
"Then Ranger, I offer you none other than the Heir of Voronwë, descendant of the famous Elf guide who led the human Tuor to the City of Gondolin. You can have no better guide along your side."  
  
As soon as the words 'Heir of Voronwë' were out of Lord Elrond's mouth, the table was alive with chatter. This was indeed a bold move by the Lord, and quite crafty. Many of the elves assumed it must come from the human blood that was rumoured to run in Lord Elrond's veins.  
  
Surprisingly, it wasn't Duo who had any objections; he sat in his seat very pale, looking even sicker than he felt. His whole world was being turned upside down and he hadn't had one say in the matter. It was Elladan who stood up horrified.  
  
"FATHER, I cannot allow you to send him!"  
  
Lord Elrond looked a bit guilty when faced with his eldest son; he knew how the young Elf felt about Duo. "I'm afraid Elladan, it is not your decision to make. And it has already been made. Duo is under my care, and if it benefits us all, he must be sent away. And only for a short time, he will return."  
  
"Then send me with him, so I can make sure he returns to us safely."  
  
Lord Elrond shook his head sadly. "No, you are needed here."  
  
"Then send me in his stead, you can't send Duo, you simply can't."  
  
The room was silent by this very emotional outburst from the elder more serious son. Even more surprising was how the normally energetic Duo was being so quiet during all of this. He'd not said a single word.  
  
Truth be told, Duo was overcome with feelings about not only leaving to be with a human, but by what Elladan was ready to risk so he would not have to go. It warmed his heart, and made him feel weaker, all at the same time.  
  
Standing up as silently, as only an Elf could, Duo motioned to Elladan that he was able to talk now. Once again he lifted his head up high, but instead of glaring at Heero, he glared strongly, straight into Lord Elrond's bright blue eyes.  
  
"My Lord, it would be an honour to serve my fellow Elves. I will leave with the Ranger as early as the day will allow tomorrow morn. But do not worry if I return late, for I may not return at all." He then left the deathly quiet room, showing absolutely no sign of the misery he felt in every facet of his being.  
  
Elladan glared equally hard at his father, before leaving to convince Duo of anything that would make him come back.  
  
This left Lord Elrond, his younger son Elrohir, and his daughter Arwyn to try and mend the broken atmosphere. It was no easy task.  
  
  
  
  
  
After the dinner had come to an end, Lord Elrond made his way up to Duo's bedroom. He found Elladan sitting on a chair directly outside the room. It was obvious he'd tried to convince Duo to let him in, to no avail.  
  
As soon as Elladan saw his father coming, he immediately stood up to guard the door. Lord Elrond could tell he was angry.  
  
"Go away! He doesn't want to speak to me, or anybody. You've done enough. You KNOW what's happened to him! There's no excuse for forcing him out of all of us to aid that human."  
  
"If you wish to direct you're anger, direct it at the right person. This is not the Ranger's doing, but my own. And since when did you hate humans?"  
  
"I don't... but he attacked Duo, and now you're planning to have Duo help him, it's cruel, that's what it is."  
  
"Duo provoked him."  
  
"That's what he told you!"  
  
"That's what you're brother told me. Are you accusing Elrohir of lying?"  
  
This seemed to subdue the young Elf a bit. "No... no, I didn't mean that. But father, what do you mean by this. I know you, you have some plan."  
  
"Yes... and perhaps it isn't turning out quite as I've imagined, but there's still time. Duo is descended from a great Elf. And in many ways, Duo is very much like his father. Voronwë hated humans. And he hated Tuor even more for having to guide him. But they did make their piece, and it is rumoured they even fell in love. If Tuor hadn't died in Gondolin, who knows what would have happened."  
  
"So that's it, you want Duo to fall in love with some Human so he can have his heart broken. Elves can only die from a wound in battle or a broken heart. Who knows if he's not dying right now after what you've done to him tonight."  
  
"No, Elladan, I did not mean for them to fall in love. Just. that Duo would learn not to hate all humans. Times may be changing, and we might need all the allies we can get. There is already too much hatred among the Elves and the Dwarves."  
  
"Yes, but that's hardly OUR fault..."  
  
"BOTH sides are to blame, neither is at fault. And Duo isn't at fault for hating humans the way he does. But that doesn't mean it can continue. I do want to do what's best for him. And I feel with all my heart, that this is it."  
  
Elladan didn't look angry at all anymore, just very, very sad. "Then you better go talk to him, because if he doesn't return, I will have to leave and search for him. And I'd rather spend that time enjoying his company here in Rivendell."  
  
Lord Elrond reached over and patted his youngest son fondly on the shoulder. "I will my son."  
  
Elladan then walked quietly away, leaving his father to deal with yet another upset Elf. He was about to knock, but found he didn't have to. The door swung open on it's own, and there stood Duo, hair fully down now, looking sad, but defiantly not angry any more.  
  
He looked surprised to see Lord Elrond, obviously expecting Elladan to still be waiting patiently by his door.  
  
"You don't need to convince me, I already said I would do it!"  
  
Lord Elrond nodded his head solemnly. "I know Duo, that's not why I'm here."  
  
The young Elf pushed pass him, trying to contain his growing anger. "I don't really care why you're here. I don't care what you think will come of this, and I don't care if you want to make it up to me! You have no excuse for what you did, Lord of this House or not, it's cruel to have made me go. And if I didn't have my pride, probably the only thing I've got LEFT that I can keep, I wouldn't be going at all."  
  
Lord Elrond let the young Elf vent, knowing there was nothing he could say to make him see otherwise.  
  
"Duo... whatever you choose, you will always be welcome in Rivendell. You have lost enough homes, I would never dream of taking another from you."  
  
Looking up into the Elf-Lord's sincere eyes, Duo sighed slightly in temporary defeat.  
  
"You really are craftier than I gave you credit for."  
  
"I've always been craftier than you gave me credit for."  
  
Still feeling very uncomfortable around Lord Elrond, and not at all happy with the unfolding events, Duo tried to back out of the conversation gracefully. "I better go pack. Not sure where I left the length of rope from my last journey south. It would not be wise to leave without it."  
  
"No... it wouldn't." Lord Elrond sounded unsure, searching into Duo's eyes for any sign that he'd managed to mend even the smallest of wounds between.  
  
"I might have to tie him up and leave him for the birds if he causes me any trouble."  
  
"Only you, Duo." Lord Elrond said, shaking his head in wonderment.  
  
"I haven't forgiven you, I haven't said I'd come back, and for the record, I still don't like it..."  
  
"Having to guide the Ranger?"  
  
"Yes... But I do promise, if only for my pride, I'll do my best as a guide. The Ranger Heero WILL get there alive, even if I have to kill him to accomplish it."  
  
"There and back again?" Lord Elrond asked uncertainly.  
  
"Yes... there and back again."  
  
  
  
TBC...  
  
Okay...  
  
Maybe I lied, maybe there was a lot more of the LOTR world then I had attended. I just feel so comfortable with the characters that it's hard not to. (I've read ALL the LOTR books, including the Simarillion, and the Lost Tales. hence where I got Duo's history). Did anyone get the last joke in the story... I thought it was cute, am I allowed to think my things are cute?  
  
Pictures:  
  
Council Room of Lord Elrond: http://www.figwitlives.net/images/Figwit4.jpg  
  
Lord Elrond: http://www.theargonath.cc/characters/elrond/pictures/elrond17.jpg  
  
http://www.theargonath.cc/characters/elrond/pictures/elrond3.jpg  
  
Elladan/ Elrohir: This is actually a pic of the SEXY Elf Figwit. But it's what I imagine the Twins would look like since they don't show up until the second film. http://www.figwitlives.net/  
  
Duo: oops... sorry, no pics of Duo as an Elf :(  
  
SIDE NOTES and useless facts:  
  
First of all, YES I know I capitalized Human, Elf, Lord, South, West, ect. But that's only because Tolkien does in his book. And it was weird writing it any other way.  
  
The story of VORONWë and TUOR is an actual story, and was in fact a story in the lost tales. The oddity of the story is that in fact Tuor DOES win Voronwë over in the end. I SWEAR TO YOU, to all seeming, Tolkien wrote them falling in love. It's a really sweet story, and ever sweeter seeing they're growing care for each other (if you insist that it's only deep friend love fine, but it's the same love Sam and Frodo have by the Two Towers.) From the moment Voronwë is found by Tuor washed ashore on a beach after failing a mission.it's just so sweet.  
  
Lord Elrond: the human blood thing is true. He's half human. He had to choose at a certain time whether to be human or Elf. He chose to be Elf. His brother chose to be human, and he was wracked with grief when his brother died.  
  
Lord Elrond's Wife (Celebrian): Celebrian was Galadrial's daughter (beautiful Cate Blanchette in the movie). So Arwyn is actually Galadrial's granddaughter. Celebrian DID get raped by Orcs, and she did abandon her 3 children and husband to run off to the other lands.  
  
Elladan: Means 'Elf-man' named after his human blood. Yes, he was obsessed with killing Orcs in the books too. He gets over it sorta when the whole Ring thing happens and he has to fight at Aragorn's side.  
  
Elrohir: means "Knight Lord". Apparently both Elladan and Elrohir are given the same choice as their father in whether to become Human or not. Me thinks they chose to go to the west with the Elves, but hey... I'll know.  
  
Heero is a Ranger, explained that above. Aragorn was a Ranger, and so were a handful of other men. Tough job. You have to keep danger at bay, and then they ostracize you in bars. Sheesh, no respect.  
  
  
  
PLEASE, for the love of Duo and HEEEEERRRRRRRRROOOOOOOO. Please send tell me what you think. I realize now that I reread my fic, it may be too much, so tell me if it's ok. And if it's not, tell me too, I'll tone it down for the second chapter.  
  
Sony_Mouse@hotmail.com 


	2. The Road

Title: Rivendell 2/?

  
  


Author: Sony_Mouse

  
  


Pairings: 1+2+1

  
  


Warnings: Fusion (or sorts), Tolkien LOTR Characters (more of the REALLY side characters), violence 

  
  


Archives: GWA (if you want my fic, you can have it, just tell me where your site is)

  
  


Disclaimers: ALL characters belong to either Sunrise, or Tolkien (or in a way, Peter Jackson :)

  
  


Author's Note: This is a SIDE story to LOTR, so the only characters who get involved are familiar characters from Rivendell BEFORE all the action starts. (eg: Elrond, Elladan, Elrohir, Glorfindel, some Orcs, ect). This story has little or nothing to do with the ring. It only takes place during the same time.

  
  


If you are NOT a fan of LOTR, DO NOT WORRY. This fic is first and foremost a story about Duo and Heero. So I'll try hard not to lose you in Tolkien's world. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Chapter 2: The Road

  
  
  
  


"I haven't forgiven you, I haven't said I'll come back, and for the record, I still don't like it.". 

  
  


"Having to guide the Ranger?" 

  
  


"Yes . . . But I do promise, if only for my pride, I'll do my best as a guide. The Ranger Heero WILL get there alive, even if I have to kill him to accomplish it."

"There and back again?" Lord Elrond asked uncertainly.

  
  


"Yes . . . there and back again." 

  
  


***********************************************************

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"The Road goes ever on and on

Down from the door where it began.

Now far ahead the Road has gone, 

And I must follow, if I can,

Pursuing it with Eager feet.

Until it joins some larger way

Where many paths and errands meet.

And whither then? I cannot say." 

-The Lord of the Rings- The Fellowship of the Rings by J.R.R. Tolkien

  
  
  
  


All of Rivendell had awoken bright and early the next morning to see Duo off on his way, and maybe just a bit curious to see how he would act around the Ranger. His hatred of Men was legend around the House of Lord Elrond, especially after last night.

  
  


Since his last talk with Lord Elrond, Duo had not spoken a single word to anyone while he prepared for his journey. Lindir, one of the many Elves staying in Rivendell, had made an effort to help Duo to pack a great many things. He was quite discouraged to later learn that Duo had decided not to pack anything at all, and just go with the bare minimum. 

  
  


It was after Lindir had left Duo's room that he had realized that the Ranger was accustomed to living off the land. If Duo brought whatever met his fancy, then the Human would be upstaging him, and he wasn't about to let that happen.

  
  


He did however end up packing provisions for himself and the Ranger. Making sure to bring enough Lembas to last for as long as need be. Lembas was a sort of Elven bread, if it could be called that, and had all the nutrients and supplements one would need on a long voyage. A single bite would be enough to fill a grown man's stomach.

  
  


The horse that he had chosen to take with him was a parting gift from Elladan. The young Lord had hoped to aid Duo as much as he possibly could; giving him his own horse seemed the best possible way since he couldn't physically come with him on the journey. Duo had wordlessly thanked him, feeling a bit uncomfortable accepting any type of gift after the way he had behaved toward Elladan the night before.

  
  


As soon as Duo was ready to go, he grabbed the horse's reins, and met his fate head on at the entrance to Rivendell. There was already a large crowd of onlookers waiting for him, including the Ranger, who was clearly upset that he had to wait at all.

  
  


Heero was wearing the same clothes he had come to Rivendell in, with, his sword closely at his side. 

  
  


Finally catching sight of the young Elf, Heero had to hide his surprised when he saw Duo approaching the gate with his horse behind him. The heir of Voronwë was dressed so differently then the two previous times he'd seen the Elf. His hair was now done up similar to last night, except that the front part that was lifted from his eyes, was now held back in tiny braids on both sides meeting at the back of his head. The rest of his hair hung just as loosely down his back as the night before.

  
  


His long robe had been replaced with a new pair of pants and a green and brown tunic; Heero thought the colours might be to help him blend in more with the forest. Duo also carried with him a dagger and a set of bow and arrows across his back. The end effect was that the Elf looked much more masculine than he had the night before, yet he still held just as much grace as ever. 

  
  


Heero preferred this 'wandering' attire to anything else he'd seen in his stay at Rivendell. It was what he usually saw the Wood Elves wearing when he came across them in West. It was no obvious this was only something they wore to travel in. Heero wasn't sure he liked the idea of a male Elf in a robe anyway. It seemed nothing more than a dress to him, and he felt much more comfortable around Duo, or any other Elf for that matter, when they wore slacks instead.

  
  


Duo had now approached close enough to give Heero a once over, not acknowledging him in the least, it was more like sizing him up. He then jumped onto his grey horse as swiftly and gently as a wild cat might, and gave the mare a gentle pat on the head. He nodded curtly in the direction of where Lord Elrond stood alongside his two sons and only daughter. Then, without even the smallest bit of warning, he reared the horse's head around, and galloped of through the entrance as quickly as he was able. A soft mummer of surprise could be heard making it's way through the crowd.

  
  


Heero, who had expected at least some sort of farewell speech from the Lord Elrond, was taken completely by surprise. With much speed, he said his thank you's and good-byes to his kind hosts, before rearing his own horse's head and beginning to chase after the newly departed guide, cursing the stubborn Elf the entire time.

  
  
  
  


**************

  
  
  
  
  
  


It took him quite a bit longer than he would have thought possible, but Heero finally had caught up with the speeding Elf. He cut him off the first chance he was able, hoping to stop the mad race into the forest immediately.

  
  


Duo had taken the hint much earlier on, but to Heero's great annoyance, he had chosen to ignore his wishes and ride even faster. The Ranger now took the chance to confront him.

  
  


"Elf, a good guide you may be, but I am a tracker by nature, and for us to know where we are going, I need to track where Aragorn has been. If you wish to be of any help to me at all, then do as I say." 

  
  


Duo let out a slow suffering sigh, as if he was being forced to deal with a particularly slow individual. 

  
  


"If you wish to get there as soon as possible, then do as *I* say Ranger. The last known whereabouts of Aragorn was with the Wood Elves in Mirkwood; that is where I am heading now, but if you wish to try and learn for yourself what we already know, by all means do so. I'm not the one in a hurry."

It was a full two minutes before Heero could manage to speak again, he was gripping the reins on his horse so hard his knuckles were now a pale ghost white. 

  
  


"Maybe, if you had decided to TELL me that little piece of information Elf, I might have known! From now on, if you have any useful piece of information, no matter how trivial you might think it is, share it with me. I have no times for your petty, childish revenge against Mankind, or for your stupid games. Do I make myself perfectly clear?"

"Crystal!" Duo spat out, too enraged to give a longer comment with more with. He was infuriated that anyone could dare call his feelings petty. 

  
  


He kicked his grey mare, perhaps harder than he had meant to, and sped right past Heero, almost knocking him off his own horse in the process.

  
  


Heero practically growled out loud, vowing here and now to kill the Elf if it was the last thing he ever did. He then began the ridiculous chase all anew, furious for accepting Lord Elrond's stupid offer in the first place.

  
  
  
  
  
  


By the time Heero finally caught up with Duo, he was once again furious. Not just at the Elf, but at his horse for being slower than Duo's grey mare. This was more due to the fact that Elves weighed so little compared to what a Human would, of the same body type. So Duo's mare had much less weight to carry, and therefore rode much faster. 

  
  


Heero jumped off his horse with the least amount of grace he put together, noticing that as Duo did the same thing, the Elf never bounced when he touched the ground. He just jumped and . . . landed, as if gravity defied itself when it came to Elves. 

  
  


Duo ignored Heero completely and right away he began to look for things to build a small temporary camp with, firewood, rocks, and other such items. 

  
  


Heero knew that this would be the perfect opportunity to not only get away from the immature Elf, but to go fetch some supper at the same time. So without saying a word, he tied up his horse, and ran off into the forest, already sensing his prey. 

  
  


The hunt didn't last long, but it was long enough for Heero to have let himself relax slightly. Heero's finely tuned skills had managed to catch him two fine looking hares. One for himself, and one for the ever ungrateful Elf. 

  
  


Camp came into view too soon for Heero's liking, and he could soon tell that Duo had somehow managed to make a small fire with which he could cook his food. Upon even closer examination, Duo was already eating something by the fire, but Heero didn't have the faintest idea of what it was. 

  
  


Seeing Heero enter camp, it was Duo who spoke first, and not in the least bit friendly. "Why are you carrying two dead hares? I realize that humans are butchers, but I didn't know that it extended to small hares as well. There was no reason to kill a defenceless animal."

  
  


Heero threw the hares down by the fire, getting his knife ready to start skinning them. "I brought us supper, but I see you already have found some for yourself. Were you planning on eating it all before I got back, or just hide it for the entire journey?"

  
  


"No, it's for both of us" Duo said as he picked up one of the Lembas and threw it up at Heero, the Ranger caught it deftly. "I brought us Lembas."

  
  


"And what is Lembas?"

  
  


"It would be similar to your bread, but it's not bread, and has many nutrients that are very valuable on a long journey such as ours." Duo said with some pride. He was quite fond of Lembas, and it was the one thing he had looked forward to on their trip, the chance to eat Lembas.

  
  


Heero didn't seem nearly as pleased. "You expected me to survive on 'bread' alone?"

  
  


"Well at least no one died in the making of it. And it's not bread, it's Lembas!"

  
  


"I don't care what it is, I'm not eating it. Save if for yourself."

  
  


Duo had to take in a deep breath to contain his anger, NOW who was acting childish. "Fine, don't eat it. But I won't eat that meat. Elves only kill in defence. Maybe those hares were sleeping, and you, being human, mistook it for a savage attack, but I won't eat off the 'victory' of your killing."

  
  


"What makes you so sure I was going to offer you any?" Heero then picked up the biggest hare of the two, and began to skin it with his hunting knife.

  
  


Duo was at once both sickened and angered by the act. He stood up and threw the piece of Lembas he had been eating into the fire. "Suddenly I've lost my appetite. I hope you choke on that hare. You would well deserve it."

  
  


Heero just glared up at the Elf and skinned it with faster strokes, taking uneven shots at the hare with his knife, knowing he was acting on pure malice now. 

  
  


He watched suspiciously as Duo stood before the fire for a few extra seconds, looking down at the yet untouched Hare with what could almost be described as sadness in his eyes. 

  
  


Then quicker than Heero could have imagined, he bent down to grab the second hare, and ran off into the forest. All Heero could do was throw his knife into the ground and swear out loud. He was really beginning to despise that Elf. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


It wasn't until many hours later that Duo decided to return. He looked tired, and slightly worn out. Wherever he had been, he'd ran all the way there and back, but Heero had no way of knowing for sure. 

  
  


Without a glance in Heero's direction, Duo silently laid down on the dirty ground, heedless of what it did to his clothes and hair, and closed his eyes as if to go to sleep. He never got the chance. 

  
  


"What did you do with my supper?"

  
  


Without opening his eyes, Duo answered in a soft voice. "I gave him to a hungry wolf. Someone who needed to eat it."

  
  


Heero resisted the temptation to growl just like a wolf. "*I* needed to eat it!"

  
  


"No, you already had a hare. Besides, there was no reason for you to skin that other hare in front of me. I am doing my best to keep a promise and not to harm you in any way on this trip, You are not helping your cause."

  
  


Heero scoffed at the idea. "I very much doubt anything I could do would help my cause. You find fault in everything I say or do, you seem to hate me for some worthless reason, and I . . . " Heero never got the chance to finish the sentence. Duo had jumped up from where he lay and cut him off. 

  
  


"I think I'll go find a nice swamp to sleep in. I'll find better company there." He then walked off into the dark forest for the second time that night, as if it was the most normal thing in the world.

  
  


Heero was left shaking his head in disbelief. They'd only camped out once, and already the Elf had left in a tantrum twice, like some child who couldn't' be sated. It was ridiculous, and defiantly not worth worrying about. So in defiance, Heero lay down his head to sleep. Nothing would stop him from getting the rest he needed, not even if the great evil of the past where to reawaken and come to him at night. At the moment, he just didn't care.

  
  


Luckily for Heero, it wasn't some great evil that woke him up from his troubled sleep, nor was it Duo. The unlikely perpetrator was in fact, no other than an Orc. 

  
  


Called Yrch by the Elves, Goblins by some, and Glamhoth by others, Orcs were, in most people's opinions, very ugly creatures. They mostly stooped when they walked, smelled badly, and were generally dangerous to be near.

  
  
  
  


Heero had dealt with his amount of Orcs in the past, but never while he slept, and never while he was so distracted. The result was that before he knew it, he had been knocked unconscious by one particularly nasty Orc, and was being carried off into the night.

  
  


This is quite the embarrassing situation for a Ranger, who supposedly dealt with much worse on a regular basis. But Heero had really let his guard down, and was now paying the price, something he really couldn't afford.

  
  


It wasn't long before Heero woke up, or maybe it was, he couldn't know for sure. He found himself being thrust unceremoniously to the ground. His head had already hurt from the blow, but now due to the fall, so did his body. Pushing the pain to the far reaches of his mind, he looked around the badly lit cave where he now lay. 

  
  


For the present moment the Orc was ignoring him entirely, obviously thinking that he was still unconscious, and, after all, only a Human. Besides that, the Orc had found his fellow Orc friend already waiting for him in the cave. The second Orc had seemed to have found something even betting to play with, in his own hunt that evening. It turned out that what the second Orc had found WAS much better than a Human, at least in their eyes, he'd found an Elf. 

  
  


While Heero had just been dumped on the ground in some corner, Duo had been gently laid down onto a bed. As far as Heero could tell he looked completely uninjured, and for a brief second, Heero had to wonder if Duo had not come willing, planning his capture all the time. But he knew it wasn't true. No Elf would make an alliance with an Orc, and especially not at the cost of his own personal well being. 

  
  


Heero could see that they had taken Duo's tunic off already, and where now just standing by the bed staring at the Elven figure. 

  
  


He found this whole scene disgusting. 

  
  


Orcs tended to be fascinated with Elves because they were something Orcs could never be again. And 'again' was indeed the right word because Orcs had at one time been Elves themselves. Thousands of years ago, in Ages past, the first Age to be precise, before even the Dark Lord by the name of Sauron had risen. There had been the first great Evil in the world, the first Dark Lord named Morgoth, and he had created terror all throughout the land of Middle-Earth on his whim alone. One method he had used was to mutilate and torture a great number of pure Elves. The end result was a whole army of beings that were not even a shadow of what they had once been. Even after Morgoth had been defeated, the evil still remained in them, and as they bred, Orcs continued to be born. Never to be Elves again. 

  
  


It was for this reason, and others, that the two mutilated Orcs now sat staring at every inch of Duo's body. Hoping soon to posses the one thing that eluded them to this day, their lost beauty, of both body and soul. 

  
  


Heero knew exactly how they meant to posses the Elf, and preferred greatly not think about it. He wanted to stop the Orcs, wanted to prevent what was not preventable, but he had no weapon on him, and knew it would be better to wait until they'd completely forgotten about his being there. 

  
  


As much as he hated Duo, even he had to admit that the thought of an Orc being anywhere near an Elf seemed somehow very wrong.

  
  


The second Orc, the one who had found the Elf, didn't seem to share Heero's opinion, and was now tracing his dirty, unkept hand all along Duo's exposed torso. His meek eyes closed as he revelled in the touch, steadily going south along the Elven body. His hand was slowly reaching under Duo's trousers, while his other attempted to undo the clasp, but he never got the chance to finish it. 

  
  


Duo's arm suddenly shot forward, knife in hand, and stabbed the unsuspecting Orc in the eye. As he fell hard onto the ground screaming in agony, Duo thrust the bloodied blade into the heart of the other Orc, who was in some sort of shock at seeing his friend stabbed by an unconscious Elf. 

  
  


Duo then grabbed the first Orc he had stabbed, and pulled his head back by his hair. A determined look appeared on his face as he slashed his knife against the Orc's Throat. 

  
  


In less then a blink of an eye, Duo had killed both Orcs, not sustained a single injury, and had thrown his knife in the air, causing it to graze Heero's right ear, and hit the wall behind him. 

  
  


Heero pulled the knife out of the wall and pointed it in back in Duo's direction. "There's no need to attack. I'm not another Orc."

  
  


Duo just shrugged. "Had I attacked, you would be dead now. That was just my way of saying 'thanks for trying to save me'."

  
  


Heero threw the knife back at Duo, amazed when the Elf caught it deftly and wiped the blade clean of blood on one of the dirty sheets. "I was going to help you. I was just waiting for them to forget my presence."

  
  


"Well Ranger, you waited too long. Or were you just enjoying the prospect me of my being raped, tortured or killed." Duo roughly grabbed his tunic and placed it upon his bare shoulders. Happy to have something warm to wear in the cold cave. 

  
  


"No Elf, I'd rather have the honour of killing you myself." Heero surveyed the damage around him. Amazed at the brutality he'd just witnessed. "For someone who values life so much, you kill in a cruel manner."

  
  


"I kill in a necessary manner. I kill to survive. Had I been starving with no alternative, I would even have killed a hare. That is the way Elves live! No matter how foreign it is to Humans."

  
  


"Not all Men kill as I do!"

  
  


"In my experience, yes they do!." Duo didn't let another word go by in edgewise as he sheathed his knife and stormed out of the cave. 

  
  


Heero trailed angrily behind him, something he'd been doing too much of recently. Once outside, Heero decided he'd had enough, and corned the Elf against a tree.

  
  


"Listen Elf, I wasn't the only one who was captured! And *I* don't have the benefit of your Elven hearing or your sight. Had you not run off like a child in a tantrum, had you stayed at the camp and actually done your job like you were supposed to and acted like my guide, then maybe you wouldn't have been in the situation you were just put into. You have only yourself to blame Elf. I regret none of my actions!"

  
  


Duo was left speechless. Heero just turned around more upset now that he'd actually spoken what he'd been thinking the whole time, and angrily walked off. Even after the Ranger had left to go back to the camp, he remained at the tree for several minutes more, shocked that Heero was actually right about one thing. He should have stayed at the camp. 

  
  


He had no excuse for leaving. He knew there were Orcs in these areas, Heero had not. He should have warned the Ranger at least, but he hadn't. He really was to blame. The momentary guilt didn't last long. He was still too angry with Heero for having done nothing to help him back in the cave. The Orcs had been well distracted before Duo had ever reached for his knife. If not, they would have easily spotted the small movement. 

  
  


Duo suddenly realized that they'd been separated again, and hurried to find Heero and walk beside him, even though he'd rather walk alone. 

The truth was he'd been upset and distracted when the Orc had found him walking in the forest earlier that night. He had been so centered on his hatred of that awful Human that even a noisy Orc had managed to walk up behind him. Deep inside, Duo just wanted this whole trip to end. It had only been one day, one simple day, and he had already messed up, been captured, by a single Orc no less, and had allowed his personal feelings almost get Heero killed. Something he had promised both Lord Elrond, and himself, that he wouldn't do. 

  
  


He just wanted it to be over and done with.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Both Man and Elf now walked back to the camp in complete silence, not knowing what else to say. Upon arrival, they were presented with pure chaos. Their camp had been ransacked by the Orc when he had captured Heero. They had even let the horses run loose. 

  
  


This unfortunately meant that the trip would now be three times as long. There was little chance that the horses would ever find their way back to them, too spooked to even try. Duo figured that his own grey mare would lead Heero's horse back to Rivendell. It seemed their safest bet. 

  
  


Heero and Duo sat down in relative silence, sharing the world load in cleaning up what was left of the camp, and starting up a new fire, both spending the entire night tending to it. They were just too caught up in their own thoughts to even think about going back to sleep.

  
  


The unfortunate event had been some sort of eye opener for both of them. They now realized that no matter how much they hated each other, there were going to have to tolerate each other's presence if the search was to be a success. 

  
  


It came down to what they thought was more important, their hatred, or the reason why they were on the journey in the first place. Heero had risked much just to reach Rivendell, and that was just the beginning of his own journey. 

  
  


A truce would have been too much, but a silent agreement was passed between them both that night. They would stick together until the end of this horrible journey, and they would stick together on the way back. 

  
  


What other choice did they have?

  
  
  
  


**********

  
  


Before the sun had even come over the horizon, Duo and Heero had gotten rid of the fire and gotten ready to leave. There was now much less to carry, Duo still had a good supply of Lembas left, and of course his dagger, but that was it. Heero only had the clothes on his back and his sword at his side. All else had been ruined of lost.

  
  


As they started to walk away from the camp, Heero noticed that Duo no longer had his bow and arrows. He'd not seen the Elf wear them since the night before, and decided to inquire about them. 

  
  


"What happened to your bow?"

  
  


Duo looked disappointed that Heero had noticed, trying to brush the small remark off. "The Orc broke it in to when I tried to shoot him."

  
  


This small revelation caught Heero off guard. "I thought you said he had come up from behind you?"

  
  


"He had, but I was quick and drew and arrow and tried to shoot him." 

  
  


Heero contained the smile that threatened to take hold of his features. The Elf had tried to shoot the Orc and had missed. This was not a common thing at all for an Elf to do. But before Heero could comment on this, Duo spoke again. 

  
  


"I warn you now Ranger, do not make light of my ability with the bow and arrow. It is no more my weapon of choice then it would be yours."

  
  


This puzzled Heero greatly. "Then why bring it along?" 

  
  


"It was a gift from Lord Elrond, much like the grey mare was a gift the young Lord Elladan."

  
  


"And you've lost both." Heero almost smirked.

  
  


Duo tried not to be annoyed. "Yes, I've lost both. But I admit, the bow was no great loss to me. I work better with the knives, and I work the best with a spear. Much like the legendary Elf Gil-Galad once did. I've studied his teachings many times over."

  
  


Heero could see where this line of thinking was taking Duo. "A spear would be an impractical weapon on a long journey on horseback."

  
  


"Yes Ranger, but I may yet get one when we reach the Wood Elves since we are no longer hindered by any horses."

  
  


The mention of horses reminded Heero of Elladan's gift of the grey mare. He wondered if Elladan and Duo were somehow together as a couple. It was something he'd wondered since the banquet at Rivendell. To his great surprise, he asked this out loud. 

  
  


"Did Elladan give you that mare because of the love you share with him?"

  
  


Duo stopped what he was doing immediately, and the first light conversation they'd ever had ended there. Duo's bright eyes seemed to grow dark as he spoke.

  
  


"No Ranger, I could never love Elladan. He has Human blood flowing within his veins. Although only a little, it's far too much for me."

  
  


With that Duo began to walk towards the direction he knew Mirkwood was in, knowing that Heero would fallow him now without question until they reached the fabled land of the Wood Elves. 

Heero was sorry he'd asked anything at all. Duo's response being a sore reminder that even though the Elf could hide it better this morning, he really did hate him, and the hatred of an Elf was a hard thing for anyone to deal with, even a tough Ranger such as Heero.

  
  


TBC

  
  


Well this was shorter then I had planned, but it will defiantly do for a second chapter. 

  
  


I hoped you liked it, I hope I kept the 'feel' of the first chapter. And I hope you didn't think it was corny or odd or something. BUT if you did (or didn't) please tell me just what you DID think and send me much e-mail (or replies) about it. 

  
  


I LIVE for your comments, the only reason I keep writing is so I can read what you all have to say. (Now that I've suckered you for comments I'll go write chapter three MUHAHAHAHA 

  
  


OH everyone go look at the lovely picture that Nezumi did for me. It's Duo as an Elf and Heero as a Ranger. It's a wonderful pic. 

  
  


http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=116556 

  
  


P.S. Gwaddiction.com, Nezumi's given me her permission to let you post it by my fic :)

  
  
  
  


Comments to Sony_Mouse@hotmail.com


	3. The Waterfall

Title: Rivendell 3/?

  
  


Author: Sony_Mouse

  
  


Pairings: 1+2+1

  
  


Warnings: Fusion (of sorts), Tolkien LOTR Characters, violence 

  
  


Archives: GWA (if you want my fic, you can have it, just tell me where your site is)

  
  


Disclaimers: ALL characters belong to either Sunrise, or Tolkien (or in a way, Peter Jackson :)

  
  


Poem for my Beta: (I neglected to mention her the last few times, so I promised her a poem)

  
  


Oh my Beta . . . 

With your typing so clean and fair.

you fix all my mistakes,

even when I don't, but should care.

You tell me what's bad, 

and you tell me what's good.

And my grammar is changed 

into the way that it should.

So I've written a poem, 

a poem just for you!

Now I was hoping you'd look 

and go fix it too.

  
  


thanks go to Lady Shinimegami

Okay, enough of that, onto the fic :)

  
  
  
  


Chapter 3: The Waterfall

  
  
  
  


"Did Elladan give you that mare because of the love you share with him?"

  
  


Duo stopped what he was doing immediately, and the first light conversation they'd ever had ended there. Duo's bright eyes seemed to grow dark as he spoke.

  
  


"No Ranger, I could never love Elladan. He has Human blood flowing within his veins. Although only a little, it's far too much for me."

  
  


With that Duo began to walk towards the direction he knew Mirkwood was in, knowing that Heero would fallow him now without question until they reached the fabled land of the Wood Elves.

  
  


Heero was sorry he'd asked anything at all. Duo's response being a sore reminder that even though the Elf could hide it better this morning, he really did hate him, and the hatred of an Elf was a hard thing for anyone to deal with, even a tough Ranger such as Heero.

  
  
  
  


*************************************

  
  


"It's a dangerous business going out of your door. You step onto the road, and if you don't keep your feet, there's no knowing where you might be swept of to."

- Bilbo Baggins -Lord of the Rings - Fellowship of the Rings

  
  
  
  


Many days had passed since the small party set off from Rivendell in search of the Ranger Aragorn. Each morning had been filled with lively fights, while each evening had been filled with silence as both Man and Elf reflected back on the day's events. 

  
  


It was usually Duo who started any of the conversations, if at all, but then only to insult Heero in some way or another. The Ranger would usually try to turn this into something more pleasant, but it never lasted for long. 

  
  


By the time a fortnight had passed, both travelers were weary, hungry and sick of each other s company. Neither wanted to admit it, but they really looked forward to the reprise that the Wood Elves might offer them.

  
  


Their food supply was dwindling and already the Lembas was almost all gone. Duo greatly dreaded the thought of having to start and hunt animals for his food. Besides that, meat did not nourish the body as well as Lembas could in only a few bites. Duo was quick to point this out every time Heero threatened to go out and hunt again, much to the Ranger s displeasure. He d long since grown tired of the Elven bread and craved something with more taste.

  
  


They were particularly weary and stressed out on the day that they came across a small waterfall hidden well within the forest. The trees and bushes surrounding it were especially healthy and hid the water from the view of most creatures. However, Duo's keen hearing and eyesight led them straight there. Duo was thankful for the chance to get some clean water, and maybe a bath in the process.

  
  


The Waterfall was surrounded by a lovely pool of water that was so clear one could see straight to the bottom without any trouble. The pool itself was outlined by moss-covered rocks, acting as perfect stepping stones to climb in and out of the water.

  
  


Despite it not yet even being close to sundown, Duo insisted that they stay there for the afternoon and camp there for the night. Heero was eager for some rest as well, not to mention a bath, but couldn't pass up the opportunity to make it look like only Duo was tired from their long hike across the forests and valleys. 

  
  


So naturally he resisted Duo's movement to stay, making sure to accuse the Elf of being weak and not fit enough to go on. 

  
  


If the last two weeks had taught Heero anything, it should have taught him when to keep quiet and just agree with Duo when he shared the same opinion. Unfortunately he was about to learn that lesson all over again the hard way. 

  
  


Duo's entire demeanor changed as soon as Heero began to insult him. It went from semi-pleasant, to downright defiant. He threw down what little kit he had on him and began to strip right before Heero's eyes. Making sure to throw the various articles of clothing, such as his tunic, right at him.

  
  


Heero, for his part, was too stunned even to move, shocked that the Elf was once again being overly stubborn. 

  
  


"You're being ridiculous." Heero said as he threw Duo's tunic back at him. "Put you're clothing on at once, we have to get as much ground covered before nightfall."

  
  


Duo continued to strip, taking off the rest of his clothes in a jerky, aggressive motions.

  
  


"I'm not going anywhere, Ranger. I'm staying right here where I can get some fresh water to drink, and bathe the dirt off of my skin."

  
  


"No, you're not. We're leaving right now!"

  
  


Taking off the last of his clothes, Duo glared at Heero with all his might. "Just because I have to be around you all day and all night does not mean that I have to smell as bad as you." He then took off in a running leap, and jumped into the cool water, leaving a very upset Ranger behind him.

  
  


Heero couldn't believe the nerve of that Elf. Couldn't he listen to him for once, why did that Elf always have to have his own way?

  
  


Even though he knew he was being irrational, he was again enraged, and began to lose his temper by kicking Duo's forgotten clothes all over the forest floor, gaining a small bit of satisfaction from the act of it. 

  
  


He then stalked over to the water's edge to try and force Duo out of the water, but the sight that he was met with struck all previous train of thoughts momentarily away from his mind. 

  
  


Duo was swimming as carefree as could be just below the surface of the water, his long hair, now loose, cascading behind him as his pale arms and legs slowly propelled him forward in the water. He then broke the surface and took in a deep breath, his face now clean of all the dirt that had accumulated over the weeks. 

  
  


To put mildly, Heero was upset with himself being intrigued by the Elf s swimming form alone. In all the time that he'd been together with Duo, he'd tried very hard to forget what he was. 

  
  


Duo was an Elf, not just any Elf, he was a beautiful, graceful and elegant Elf. It had been a little bit easier to forget that when Duo was acting with the mind set of a two year old Human child, or when he was covered beneath so many layers of dirt that his Elven radiance was hidden so he may just as well have been Human.

  
  


But even then, there was always something about him, and not just that ethereal look to him that all Elves gave off, but an inner light of strength and beauty that no amount of dirt could hide. And in Duo s present state, it was far from being hidden. Try as he might to ignore it, Heero found it attractive. 

  
  


He cursed all Elves known to Man for being made the way they were, but mostly he cursed Duo for being the one his body was attracted to. It was easy to say it was only because he'd been alone for so long, and craved bodily contact with anything slightly resembling a woman. But Heero knew that was a lie. He looked down at the swimming Elf and knew that it was his well-toned muscles that lined both his arms and legs that now looked appealing. And it was his pale narrow hips, completely devoid of feminine curves, that looked unnaturally welcoming. 

  
  


There was more of Duo s body that Heero would have liked to look at and contemplate, but he quickly realized just what it was he was doing and turned his gaze to the ground, throughly digested with himself for his thoughts. He had to wonder if maybe his growing up surrounded by only other men that might have caused the current defect in him. Or maybe that silly Elf had cursed him in some form of revenge. He wouldn't hold it above him. The Magic of Elves was well known among Mankind, though little understood. 

  
  


Gathering up his wits, Heero prepared himself to threaten Duo once again to come out of the water. The sooner the Elf was dressed, the sooner they were on their way, then the sooner he would begin to feel better about himself and forget his feelings towards Duo. 

  
  


He never got the chance to actually yell at Duo before he was pulled into the water by a surprisingly strong Elf. Although Elves were always surprisingly strong, their lithe bodies never truly revealing their hidden strength. 

  
  


Heero fell into the water head on, feeling his body being pulled down at once by his heavy clothes and thick cloak. It took him quite a few seconds before he finally managed to gain his bearings and swim to the surface, gasping for air as he did so. 

  
  


Once he'd broken the water s surface, he found a very amused looking Duo laughing hard at him. Finding it funny to see Heero's thick hair dripping with water down over his eyes.

  
  


They were treading water near each other, not more than an arms length away. And even though he was furious. Heero couldn't help but take time to notice how odd it was to hear Duo laughing, no matter how malicious it seemed at the moment. 

  
  


"I'll give you one second to explain yourself Elf." Heero tried to make his voice sound as threatening as he could, knowing it would have little effect either way. 

  
  


"I wasn't about to go another step with you until you washed the grease out of your hair and the mud off of your face."

  
  


Heero didn't think he could manage to reply and not kill the Elf at the same time, so he just turned around in the water and swam quickly back to shore. 

  
  


He had just pulled himself out of the water when he realized his body seemed oddly out of balance. He was missing something. He was missing his sword.

  
  


"You bastard Elf, you've caused me to lose my weapon. I'll kill you with my bare hands now if I have to."

  
  


Surprisingly, Duo did seem to take this particular threat seriously, maybe feeling slightly guilty at having lost something so valuable. He scanned the water below and could see it lying in the deepest part of the pool of water. He waved for Heero to stay on the shore. 

  
  


"You don't have to lose your temper, it's not lost yet, I'll fetch it before another word can be spoken. Maybe now we hope that the blood stains have been finally washed off of it."

  
  


Heero growled with anger, not sure if he trusted the Elf with even that easy a task. 

  
  


He watched as Duo's naked body swam deep beneath the surface, deeper than he would have imagined the pool to be. He saw Duo grab the blade in one hand and turn to swim back up Heero, obviously in dire need of some air. 

  
  


It was only then that something from beneath the water chose to show itself. Faster than Heero could have thought possible, something shot out from the dark rocks at the pool's bottom and went straight for Duo. The Elf didn't even have a chance to notice it before he felt his leg being bit into. 

  
  


He screamed into the water, but that only managed to make him lose the precious air he had held in lungs. 

  
  


Heero couldn't hear any of the screams coming from Duo, but he could see the creature bite viciously into Duo s leg and the fine red blood that started to escape from his wound and dilute the once clear water surrounding him. Heero wanted to jump in right away, but already he couldn't even see where Duo was anymore, enough of his blood had spread around Duo and the creature to completely block them both from view. 

  
  


It would have been suicide to just try and attack with no weapon at all, but Heero couldn't just leave Duo to die like that. 

  
  


Looking around for anything that could be used as a weapon, Heero quickly noticed Duo's discarded knife among his clothes and quickly ran to pick it up. 

  
  


He then dove head first into the water, still wearing his heavy clothes, but counting on it to drag him to the bottom quicker. Once in the water his vision was completely obscured by the blood. Heero had to resist the temptation to just slash into the water with the Elven knife, knowing that he could accidental hurt the Duo even more then he already was. That was if he wasn't already dead.

  
  


Heero suddenly felt something smooth and slick brush lightly along his hand and realized that it must be the creature. He stabbed it furiously, trying to do as much damage as he could before it was able to find and attack him. 

  
  


After only a few seconds, Heero quickly realized that it was unnecessary to attack the creature, it wasn't moving at all. The creature was already dead, Duo had somehow managed to kill it. 

  
  


But then where was Duo?

  
  


Heero couldn't stay much longer under the water, and was about to head back up to the surface for some more air, when he felt long strands of hair flowing upwards in the water like seaweed, it had to be Duo for sure. Heero made a grab for the Elf, and found his arm in the murky water. He pulled him up from where he was being anchored down by his sword, and as he did so, he could just make out his weapon lying on the bottom of the pool. 

  
  


He couldn't take both Duo and the sword up to surface with him, and knew that if there was one of these creatures in the deep waters, then there must surely be others around. 

  
  


Making what any Ranger would consider an extremely difficult choice, Heero chose to leave his sword behind and bring Duo up to the surface. Even on the off chance that if the creature had not killed him, then maybe the water hadn't either. 

  
  


Upon reaching the surface, his lungs felt like they had exploded, taking in as much air as he could inhale. In his desperation to breathe he'd even let in some water, causing him to gag a bit before his breathing could return to normal. Although the bitter coppery taste of Duo's blood remained in his mouth long after.

  
  


He then dragged the lifeless body of the Elf to shore as quickly as his oxygen depraved body would allow. Pushing Duo onto the shore first, then lifting himself up. 

  
  


Once on solid ground, Heero began to check Duo over. He wasn't sure what to do in a situation like this, and hoped that by putting Duo on his side it would drain him of some of the water trapped in his lunges. 

  
  


Heero felt around and looked for any signs of life from Duo, and to his great dismay found nothing besides a long gash in Duo's leg, several smaller wounds along the rest of his body and that his lips had turned blue. He was about to give up entirely on Duo when he heard a chocking sound coming from the young Elf. Duo's body was suddenly wracked with violent shaking as he tried to breathe again, gasping each time he did so. 

  
  


After a minute or so his breathing finally slowed down and Duo rolled onto his back, obviously in a great amount of pain. He looked up towards Heero with wide eyes full of some expression that the Ranger couldn't even begin to identify. He then closed them, very much still awake, and lay silently and without movement as Heero tended to his wounds. 

  
  
  
  
  
  


It wasn't until many hours later that Duo finally started to acknowledge what had happened. He might have dozed off for a bit, but Heero couldn't know for sure. He had made sure that the Elf was kept warm in his dry clothes, and by the fire that Heero had made. 

  
  


He'd also tried to dry his thick cloak so that he could place it over Duo's shivering body like a blanket. 

  
  


Heero remained in his wet clothes until they had dried off on their own. 

  
  


Duo tried to sit up against the tree that he lay near, his eyes, still carrying that odd expression Heero had never seen before. It unnerved him to see Duo looking fragile, and seemed all at once wrong.

  
  


Night had long since fallen, and only the sound of Heero tending to the fire could be heard throughout the camp. Duo now took the opportunity to speak.

  
  


"Heero . . . "

  
  


"Don't speak now. You have to regain your strength for tomorrow." This only made Duo feel like Heero was mad at him, and for once that left him with a feeling of guilt.

  
  


"No Heero, I have to talk to you." 

  
  


Heero continued to stare into the fire, trying to avoid Duo s eyes at all cost, in all honesty too preoccupied with Duo's condition to really care what insult he had to say right now. 

  
  


"Heero, I'm sorry."

  
  


All noise ceased, breathing included, and silence reigned over the small camp. For a while not a word was spoken. Duo had apologized, and he had apologized to him. It was almost too much for Heero to believe possible. He immediately began to worry that Duo had hurt his head while was under the water as well. 

  
  


"You don't know what you're saying, get some rest."

  
  


"I do know what I'm saying!" Now Duo was entering more familiar territory. Gone was his sorrowful expression, replaced once again by his annoyance. "It's my fault that we stopped for a swim, and that you lost your sword. Who knows how much I'll slow us down now with this wound." His voice way once again filled with guilt. 

Heero found it hard to listen too. "I... you shouldn't feel too bad about that. I had wanted to stay near the water in the first place. If you hadn't suggested it, I would have."

  
  


"Then why did you insist we leave?" 

  
  


It was Heero's turn to have a guilty expression on his face.

  
  


"Because you wanted to stay, and I didn't want to let you have your way. I was just being stubborn."

  
  


Silence reigned once again, but this time it was short lived. 

  
  


"Thank you." Duo's face showed the slightest hint of a smile.

  
  


"For what?" It came out sounding angrier than Heero felt, but he didn't know how to deal with Duo being nice to him all of a sudden. It was new and dangerous territory.

  
  


"For saving me. You didn't hesitate this time. You actually managed to save me." 

  
  


Only Duo could make a nice compliment sound like an insult, but Heero took it for what it truly was anyway. 

  
  


"I didn't do much, you killed that creature long before I got there, all I did was help you out of the water."

  
  


"Thank you anyway."

  
  


Seeing how Duo looked to be in a more open mood, Heero tried to see if he could get some information out of the normally secretive Elf.

  
  


"Tell me please, if you have always disliked Men, why did you choose to live with an Elf who was half Man himself?"

This had always seemed strange to Heero. Lord Elrond was half Human, half Elf, yet Duo seemed to live quite peacefully in his presence. It didn't seem to fit with what he knew of the young Elf.

  
  


Duo actually seemed to consider the question this time before answering, instead of just acting insulted. 

  
  


"Because Lord Elrond was given the choice to become Human or stay as one of the Fair Folk, he chose who he is now and gave up his Human half. But the most important reason was because when I had nowhere else to go, when all others would not have me, he invited me into his House, the Last Homely House, and saved me from a fate worse than being killed by that creature down below the waters. Yet still . . . "

  
  


Duo became quiet for a few moments, trying to collect his tired thoughts, and maybe deciding whether or not he should share them with Heero. 

  
  


"Yet still I can never truly care from him in the way he and his family care for me. I hold a deeper grudge against him than even he knows about. All the Elves think that I know nothing about my heritage, that I was too young, too damaged to hear the history of my Father. How the Human Tuor needed to be led to Gondolin by my father and that during their travels my father fell in love with him. Of all people the people in Middle-Earth, it had to be a Human. But he was betrayed, for Tuor didn't die in the fall of Gondolin like Lord Elrond and the other s believe, he was separated from my father in the attack and went on to live a long and healthy life. He even managed to marry an Elf." 

  
  


"He must have been quite an impressive Man for two Elves to fall in love with him."

  
  


This comment didn't go over well with Duo at all, but he continued the tale anyway. "Tuor and his Elven wife had only one son. He went by the name of Eärendil."

  
  


Heero was honestly shocked by this news, though he did not show it. 

  
  


"The legendary Eärendil, but isn't he . . . "

Duo cut him off. "Yes, he's Lord Elrond's father! So not only does Lord Elrond have Human blood from both sides of his family, but he is a decedent of a man who betrayed my father greatly, and yet, I owe him my life."

  
  


Heero wasn't sure whether or not to laugh out loud or not, he honestly felt like it. The mere idea that THIS was why Duo hated humans seemed so ridiculous.

  
  


"This can't possibly be why you hate my kind so much. Wouldn't your father have also remarried? You must have had a mother!"

  
  


Duo's good humor ended there and he spoke harshly towards the Ranger.

  
  


"Of course that's not why I hate your kind. But you didn't ask me that, DID you? You asked me how I could stand to live with Lord Elrond. What do you expect from me? That because you saved me once that I'd open up to you and give you my whole life history? I gave you my father's, and I answered your question, I owe you nothing else."

  
  


Heero realized too late that he had pushed Duo too far. It was wrong of him to insult his family, and his feelings. But he was sure something else must have happened for Duo to be living away from his own family of Elves. 

  
  


It was his turn to apologize now, though he wasn't sure what good it would do. 

  
  


"Forgive me Elf. I did not mean to accuse you, or your family of anything." 

  
  


Duo remained silent, but he didn't offer any more insults, and had seemed to calm down. He was now feeling very exhausted, and was worried about how well he'd be walking, if at all, come tomorrow with his wound being so deep. 

  
  


Without even offering Heero a Good Night, Duo quickly fell asleep, eager to forget the day's events. 

  
  


Heero, on the other hand, remained awake all through the night. He felt the need to watch over Duo's sickly condition. Even if that were not true, there were other thoughts running through his head that wouldn't have let him sleep anyway.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


When Duo awoke the next morning, he felt even worse than he the night before. Every injuring he had sustained was magnified ten fold, and his heightened Elven senses didn't help him out one bit. He also felt unusually groggy, and probably would have gone back to sleep if it hadn't been for Heero's deep voice calling to him from the across the small camp.

  
  


Heero had already put out the fire, and was trying to restore the camp to its original shape as much as possible. He called over to Duo again.

  
  


"We've got far to go, it's best you get up now."

  
  


His voice left no room for objection, but he tried to make it sound as least threatening as he could. Duo just nodded silently and resisted the urge to wince as he attempted to stand on his feet. He immediately felt dizzy and swayed noticeably. He would have fallen to the ground had Heero's strong arms not caught him right away. 

  
  


As soon as Duo felt he could stand on his own he pushed Heero away with as much strength as he had, eager not to show any weakness in front of the Ranger. 

  
  


"I can walk on my own. As you said, we have far to go, so let's depart already."

  
  


He then began to walk off in the correct direction, making sure he was in the lead at all times. Heero only allowed it so he could monitor him from behind. 

  
  


The morning's walk started out fine enough, but by midday even Duo's best attempts couldn't disguise the pain he was in, his wound had even reopened and blood was trickling silently down his leg. 

  
  


Duo carried on as if nothing was out of the ordinary, and would snap at Heero if he even so much as suggested they take a moment to rest. But they both knew he couldn't last much longer like this.

  
  


It was around this time that Duo suddenly stopped walking all together, and his entire body froze. Heero instantly became worried that something was wrong with his injuries and hurried to see what was the matter, but Duo motioned for him to be still and remain silent. He'd heard something suspicious in the woods. 

  
  


Apparently the lost momentum of moving caused Duo to finally lose his forced energy and fall to the ground oh his knees. He bit his lip in an attempt not to cry out in pain, clutching his arms to his body. Heero was immediately at his side, his hands on his shoulders to steady the Elf. Duo ignored all this and cried out into the seemingly empty forest. 

  
  


"Show yourself now. Your tricks are not great enough to hide yourself from an Elf." 

  
  


As if on cue, a pleasant looking man appeared almost out of nowhere, wearing brown robes that looked old and rough in texture. He had brown hair, and carried with him a long wooden staff. He smiled down at the hurting Elf. 

  
  


"I did not realize I was in the company of such a perceptive Elf, or I would have shown myself sooner. I was just curious as to why a Human would be walking with an injured Elf towards Mirkwood."

  
  


Heero stood up and put himself between Duo and the stranger. "Are we near the Mirkwood then?"

  
  


The stranger s smile widened. "Why yes, you are at its border. Oh and do not look at me so. I'm no enemy of yours, I am the Wizard Radagast the Brown, and if you wish it of me, I will take you to Mirkwood myself. You are in dire need of medicine for this young Elf, though he doesn't look like a Wood Elf to me."

  
  


Duo spoke before Heero could have a chance. "I'm not. I'm an Elf of the Gondolindrim, from the once great city of Gondolin. Any help a Wizard might offer us would be greatly appreciated."

  
  


Radagast smiled warmly again at the Elf before he inhaled a deep breath of air and closed his eyes. He seemed to be summoning someone, or something. 

  
  


That something showed up soon enough, it was a pair of large bucks. Radagast could be seen talking to them, and then whatever he said, they seemed to agree to. Duo looked up at Heero in curiosity, knowing full well that Rangers could understand much of the words animals spoke with. 

  
  


"What did he say to them?" 

  
  


"He asked them whether or not they'd take us to the Wood Elves, they agreed on the condition that they be fed once they got there." 

  
  


Radagast now turned to look back at Heero, looking directly into his eyes. 

  
  


"You bring news of some importance with you, I can tell. If it is important enough to risk the life of an Elf, might I inquire what it is?"

  
  


Feeling he could trust this strange Wizard, Heero told him. 

  
  


"I bring news of something evil rising in the south. I know not what it is, and I seek out the council of Aragorn, son of Arathorn to determine what to do."

  
  


Radagast seemed pleased enough with this answer. "All right then, make your way to the Wood Elves, they should help you. As for me, I'll seek out the leader of my order, Sarumon the White. He'll know what to do. Good luck on your own Quest." He once again smiled warmly at Duo in particular, as if to give comfort, and then all of a sudden he changed into the form of a bird and flew off out of site.

  
  


Heero didn't seem phased at all by the transformation, accepting it as something a Wizard would do if he was able, and Duo was in too much trouble to care. He leaned down to pick up Duo and place him gently upon the buck, making sure his cloak was wrapped tightly around him for warmth. He then spoke softly with the animal, asking it to be careful with it's wounded passenger. Nodding to his own buck, Heero quickly mounted it and let it lead the way towards Mirkwood. 

  
  


It didn't take them long at all to reach fabled Wood Elves, but instead of serenity one would expect from Elves, they were greeted with chaos.

  
  


Heero dismounted and ran over to Duo's buck to help him down and carry him. Duo just sagged into the Ranger's arms, too weak to fight being carried anymore.

  
  


Elves were running everywhere, upset beyond belief, it looked like someone had just attacked them, but they Elves had managed to drive them off. 

  
  


Finding no one willing to spare him a second, Heero ran into the main building, which would surely hold some healer of sorts. 

  
  


The great hallways were empty, but Heero soon found himself face to face with a worried Elf, who, despite that, seemed to carry with him a presence of command. "A Ranger . . . ? Oh no, did Aragorn send you?" Seeing the injured Duo in his arms, the Wood Elf immediately forgot whatever it was he was worried about and spoke hastily. "Quickly, follow me Ranger. He needs to be looked at right away." 

  
  


They reached a room that was filled the brim with various herbs and plants used for healing. Duo was laid down on the bed while the Elf went to go fetch a healer. He came back accompanied by on older looking Elf who shared the same long blond hair that all the Wood Elves seemed to posses. The older Elf took care of Duo immediately while the younger one pulled Heero off to the side for questioning. 

  
  


"I can only guess why you are here, and I'm sorry to inform you he has escaped."

  
  


Heero must have had the look of utter confusion, but the Elf seemed to misinterpret him.

  
  


"Please do not be angry with us. We gave Gollum too much credit, and let him out sometimes during the day, but always heavily guarded. Only, this morning he climbed up a tree and refused to come down, and then with no warning our peaceful forest was attached by a large party of Orcs. We've managed to drive them off, but Gollum is no longer in our care. He s escaped. You'll have to send Aragorn our apologies. We did everything in our power." 

  
  


Realizing they were talking about two different things, Heero quickly made to correct the mistake.

  
  


"I did not come because of Gollum, I am afraid I don't even know who he is. I came here in search of the Ranger Aragorn." 

  
  


"Aragorn . . . ? Aragorn left with the Wizard Gandalf the Grey almost a month ago. They are no longer in Mirkwood." 

  
  


Heero suddenly felt like he d been hit in the stomach. Everything that he and Duo had gone through for the last few weeks had been for nothing, Duo had even been injured.

  
  


Seeing the look on the Ranger's face, the young Elf spoke once again. "Do not worry, maybe we could be of some assistance to you, and until your Elf friend is healed you are more than welcome to stay with us in Mirkwood. May I ask who you both are?"

  
  


"I am the Ranger Heero, and my 'Elf-friend' is Duo, the Heir of Voronwë."

  
  


The young Elf's eyes lit up in at the mention of Duo's name. He looked impressed. "The Heir of Voronwë has come to Mirkwood, that is indeed an honor. I must welcome both you, Ranger, and the Heir of Voronwë to the Home of King Thranduil."

  
  


"And who, may I ask, are you?" 

  
  


"I am the King's son, Legolas."

  
  
  
  


TBC . . . 

******************************

  
  


Where to begin . . . 

  
  


1) Radagast the Brown- He has to be my favorite Wizard and was in fact in the book. He is described by Gandalf as "A worthy Wizard, a master of shapes and changes of hue; and has much lore of herbs and beast; and birds are especially his friends." Course, Sarumon called him a fool...

  
  


In my version of events it s Duo and Heero that send him on his way to meet Sarumon in the first place. 

  
  
  
  


2) I completely skipped the Misty Mountains because...well I was just getting anxious to get to Mirkwood.

  
  
  
  


3) Gollum: In the book (and sorta in the movie) Aragorn and Gandalf capture Gollum and interrogate him in Mirkwood. Aragorn then leaves him in the care of the Wood Elves before he escapes. That is why Legolas heads to Rivendell, to tell Aragorn this. 

  
  


And yes, Legolas is in fact a Prince (did anyone really have any doubts . . . ???)

  
  
  
  
  
  


All right, the usual. For the love of Elbereth, REVIEW. Send me comments. I've gotten about 5 in total for chapter two (although they were all very nice reviews) I'm greedy, so give me more MORE MORE :)

And I just want to know what you all really think :)

  
  


the more reviews, the sooner I'll get out chapter 4 (not that I've blackmailed you hee hee hee)

  
  


Sony_Mouse@hotmail.com

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	4. The Great Hall

Title: Rivendell 4/?

  
  


Author: Sony_Mouse

  
  


Pairings: 1+2+1

  
  


Warnings: Fusion (of sorts), Tolkien LOTR Characters, violence 

  
  


Archives: GWA (if you want my fic, you can have it, just tell me where your site is)

  
  


Disclaimers: ALL characters belong to either Sunrise, or Tolkien (or in a way, Peter Jackson :)

  
  
  
  


Notes: Thanks go to Lady Shinimegami for a few of her crazy suggestions, some of which actually were crazy enough to be added to my tale.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


"I am the Ranger Heero, and my 'Elf-friend' is Duo, the Heir of Voronwë."

  
  


The young Elf's eyes lit up in at the mention of Duo's name. He looked impressed. "The Heir of Voronwë has come to Mirkwood, that is indeed an honor. I must welcome both you, Ranger, and the Heir of Voronwë to the Home of King Thranduil."

  
  


"And who, may I ask, are you?" 

  
  


"I am the King's son, Legolas."

  
  
  
  
  
  


Chapter 4: The Great Hall

  
  
  
  


"Council is a dangerous gift, even from the wise to the wise, and all courses may run ill."

-Gilder -Lord of the Rings-Fellowship of the Ring

  
  
  
  


Lying in a bed almost too comfortable to be believed, Duo slowly awoke from his deep slumber only to find himself in a well-lit room made of well-carved wood. The sun streamed in from the outside world and seemed to dance with joy as the wind blew the branches near the window.

  
  


For the life of him, Duo couldn't remember where he was, or more importantly, how he got there. He vaguely remembered speaking with a Man completely covered in brown, or was it a Wizard he spoke to? Either way that didn't explain how he came to be wherever he was.

  
  


Looking around the room, Duo soon realized that the craftsmanship of the wood could only have been worked on by Elves. 

  
  


Had they really managed to reach Mirkwood? 

  
  


After weeks and weeks of travelling in both warm and cold weather, after losing their horses and most of their equipment, even after being injured by that water creature, it just seemed too surreal to have finally reached their destination. 

  
  


Testing out his limbs, Duo was happy to see that he'd made a full recovery thanks to the Elven medicine he'd received, not even a scar could be seen along his leg. Duo slowly sat up in his warm bed, and swung his legs over the side. Standing up he noticed that the Elves had changed his clothes for him while he had slept, he now wore a long Elven Sleeping-Robe of a light blue colour. His hair fell down along his back completely unbound. 

  
  


Duo was pleased to be wearing something made of Elven silk again. It felt soothing against his skin, a welcome change from his wandering gear.

  
  


Walking towards his room door in bare feet, Duo opened it to discover a long corridor that wrapped around a Hall as if it were an indoor balcony, allowing you to see what was going on down below. More than a bit curious, Duo walked up to the edge of the balcony, surprised to find Heero standing in the middle of the Hall surrounded by a great number of Elven Maidens. 

  
  


At least seven of them crowded around the Ranger, eager to hear any story he could spare them, or just gaze adoringly at his face. One in particular, a young Elf Maiden by the name of Calencoire, actually clung onto the Ranger's arm. The whole scene left Duo very confused.

  
  


Why would they want to gaze upon the Ranger, or even spend more time with him then necessary? Weren't the Wood Elves supposed to be a closed off people, unwelcoming to any visitors? Besides, Heero was not even that good looking for as far as Humans went, his hair was always unwashed, his face covered in dirt, and his clothes never clean. 

  
  


But looking down at the Ranger now, Duo knew it was no longer true. Heero had clearly washed since their coming to Mirkwood, and had changed into some new clothes the Wood Elves must have given him for the duration of his stay. His hair still wasn't combed or brushed back, but it was clean, and looked like it would be quite soft to the touch. 

  
  


Despite all the attention Heero was now getting, he seemed very unhappy. Duo couldn't hear exactly what Heero was saying to the group of Elves, but whatever it was, there would always be a loud round of objections from the Elves after he said it.

  
  


Distracted with the need to talk some sense into every single Elf below, Duo didn't even notice when someone suddenly came up beside him. Turning around, he could see it was a young male Elf with long golden blond hair and very fair features. The newcomer smiled at Duo with a small look of awe in his eyes. 

  
  


"Dûrelen Voronwë, it is an honour to have you stay at my home in Mirkwood. I am Legolas, son of the King Thranduile, and I am very happy to see that you have recovered quickly."

  
  


Felling more than a little embarrassed, Duo accepted Legolas' warm welcome. 

  
  


"Thank you Legolas, but please, don't call me by that name anymore, I'd much rather go by Duo."

  
  


Legolas nodded in understanding. "Yes, when your Ranger friend arrived . . . "

  
  


"He is not my friend." 

  
  


Legolas, slightly shocked by the outburst, hid it well and continued on in a calm manner.

  
  


"My apologies. When you're travelling companion arrived, he referred to you as Duo, I admit I was a bit confused by the new name, but knew it was you nonetheless. There is after all, only one Heir of Voronwë." 

  
  


Duo's eyes lost a bit more of their luster at the mention of that, and agreed only too sadly. "Yes, there is only one."

  
  


"My father will by happy to finally have council with you and the Ranger. He is very eager to learn why you have to come to our lands." 

  
  


"You mean Heero has not already told you?"

  
  


"He's told me a little, but had wanted to wait until you were recovered before he had an audience with my father." Looking down at the swooning Elves below, Legolas allowed for a smile smirk to grace his features. "That and he's been too preoccupied with defending himself against my people for the last few days. The Maidens of the Wood Elves are quite fond of Rangers, eager to hear any story they are willing to share, and greatly attracted by the feel of danger that surrounds them."

  
  


Looking directly at Heero's unhappy face, Duo scowled. "I don't see what's so attractive by the danger that surrounds him. The only danger I ever found from him, or any other Human, was a danger to myself. And Heero is too solemn or moody to ever be a great Teller of Tales. The Maidens of the Wood Elves would do themselves a favour if they stayed away from him."

  
  


Knowing this was an argument he could not win, Legolas took smiled at Duo and decided to take his leave. "I must go see my father now. I will see you after lunch in the Great Hall. Please rest until that time. Again, I am happy to see you have recovered most of your strength." 

  
  
  
  


Duo bowed his head curtly and politely as the Prince of Mirkwood left to speak with his father. He then turned his attention once again to the crowd below, only to be met with the startling intense eyes of the Ranger looking straight back up at him. Immediately Heero excused himself from the entourage of Elves and made his way up the elaborately designed staircase that led to the second floor. 

  
  


Duo tried to stand tall and proud, not wanting to let the Ranger think him still weak from the injuries. Heero, for his part, tried to hide the concern that laced through him on seeing Duo out of bed. 

  
  


"I did not mean to distract you from your attentive audience below. I was just have a conversation with the Prince Legolas."

  
  


"I'm not fond of being the centre of attention. I welcomed the chance to get away. I didn't know you were already out of bed, shouldn't you be resting?"

  
  


Annoyed that Heero might be thinking he was weak, Duo lifted his chin up in defiance. "I'll leave my bed whenever I feel like it. Besides, I can recover quickly from small wounds."

  
  


"That was no small wound."

  
  


Suddenly feeling cornered and uncertain what to say, Duo quickly backed away into his room. "It's no concern of yours how big my wound was. I've recovered now, and in a few short hours I'll be given an audience with the king. So if you'll just go back to you're adoring followers, I can get myself ready." He slammed the door, much harder then necessary, leaving Heero to wonder what he'd done this time. 

  
  


He'd saved that Elf's life more than once now and in return all he got was more hatred. It was as if he could do nothing right. Nothing would please Duo. 

  
  


He had to wonder why he even bothered.

  
  


Oh, he knew why. It was because Duo had looked absolutely stunning standing up on the balcony with his long hair falling softly around him, and his cheeks once again full of the colour it'd be drained of for the past few days. Even his delicate nightgown shimmering in the morning light had added to the effect. 

  
  


He really couldn't hide it anymore, he wanted to make Duo forget to hate him, he wanted to see at least one smile from the Elf directed at him before they parted. 

  
  


Realising where his line of thinking was once again taking him, Heero quickly assured himself that friendship was all he wanted from the Elf. Anything more would be out of the question. Anything more would also be impossible. Duo could barely stand him as it was, there was no chance of even thinking of anything else.

  
  


Giving himself a frustrated growl, Heero turned around and walked off to his own room, hoping to avoid the maidens below at all cost.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


As promised, King Thranduile saw both Heero and Duo by Midday, after they'd all had a chance to have some lunch. 

  
  


They stood in a Great Hall with pillars carved out of the very stone from the ground. The Elven King himself sat upon his elaborate thrown of carved wood. He wore a crown of woodland flowers upon his brow, a beautiful Oak staff held in one hand, and a large glass of wine in the other. 

  
  


Legolas stood proudly at his father's side, dressed in attire fit for a king. He acted as mediator for the council, and both Heero and Duo soon learned why. 

  
  


The whole effect would have looked very impressive if it hadn't been for one thing, during his lunch, the King had tasted a bit too much of his favourite thing in the world, some good wine.

  
  


He wasn't too drunk not to have an audience with his guests, but he was drunk enough not to be entirely in command of his senses. Legolas quickly took over to speak for his father. 

  
  


"My father takes this moment to welcome you both to Mirkwood, although you've already been with us for several days now."

  
  


Both guests tried their best to politely look only at the King while Legolas spoke, but it was hard when the King would suddenly start murmuring some drinking song or another. 

  
  


Legolas kept a straight face at all times, clearly used to this happening on quite a few occasions. 

  
  


"He would now wish to hear from both the Ranger Heero, son of the Ranger Herumor, and from the Gondolindrim Elf Duo, son and the Heir of Voronwë."

  
  


King Thranduile interrupted the formal introduction by calling out loudly to his butler. 

  
  


"GALION! GALION! Bring me some more wine! And bring some for our guests. And if they will not have it, I'll drink theirs too!" Then turning his attention back to his son, he gave him a scrutinizing, if not very hazy, look. " Who is Duo? He's not the Heir of Voronwë! You told me Dûrelen was here. Get rid of this imposter and bring me the Heir! I knew his father. I could tell him stories of Voronwë over some wine."

  
  


Heero gave Duo a puzzled look while Duo turned away from him and tried not to feel embarrassed.

  
  


"Father, Duo is Dûrelen, he goes by a different name now."

  
  


"WHAT!" King Thranduile looked furious. "How dare you change your name! You have no right. I won't allow it. Your father named you Dûrelen for a reason. You were to be the 'Dark Star' alongside your brother Aglarêl, the 'Bright Star'."

  
  


Legolas could see that Duo was very near losing his temper in front of the king, and quickly tried to intercede. "Father, you know that Aglarêl died many years ago. Duo has the right to change the name given to him by his father."

  
  


Seeming to lose interest in the whole conversation, King Thranduile brushed his son off and took another swig of wine. 

  
  


"Very good, very good. So Ranger, tell us why you've come here."

  
  


Bowing low to the King, Heero told them what he'd seen in the South-West, and why he was looking for Aragorn to seek out his council.

  
  


The King seemed slightly amused by all this. "And here I thought you'd come to stick us with another Gollum. An awful creature he was, spent all day complaining about some foolish ring. No matter, you're too late, on both accounts. Aragorn has already left, long ago in fact. And he already knew about the Evil rising from the South. I suggest you stop worrying about all of this and stay the week to get your bearings. I shall hold a Royal Ball in both your honours for all the trouble this trip has caused you."

  
  


Legolas didn't like the idea of a dance quite so soon after the attack, and tried to reason with his father.

  
  


"Father, we are still just recovering from the attack by the Orcs, I don't think now is the right time for . . . "

  
  


"Legolas be still! You are not King yet, and I know how to run my land well enough. Our people have had a bad scare, and need the chance to relax. There will be Royal Ball tonight, in my Great Hall nonetheless, and it will take their minds off of all the unpleasantness."

  
  


King Thranduile then dismissed them both, and told Legolas to make the proper arrangements as soon as possible. Legolas then led them out of the Great Hall. 

  
  


Once they had returned to the Main Hall with the indoor balcony, Legolas turned to apologize to both their guests. 

  
  


"I am very sorry you both had to witness that. My father is a great leader, but he sometimes gets carried away with his passion for wine. And he is right. A Ball tonight would ease the mind of our people. We would be very happy if you would both attend."

  
  


Heero agreed immediately out of courtesy to his hosts, but Duo remained silent long afterwards, his mind off in some distant land, thinking about things that were best forgotten. When he realized that he was being starred at by both Legolas and Heero, he stiffened noticeably and addressed the invitation. 

  
  


"I think I won't be well enough to attend. I feel tired after the day's events and think I need more rest."

  
  


Legolas realized immediately why Duo wasn't agreeing to come, and tried to change the young Elf's mind. "My father did not mean to insult you. He knew both your father and your brother well. He grieves over their loss in his own way."

  
  


Nodding, his understanding, Duo accepted the apology reluctantly. "I will see how I feel tonight. I will come, but only for a short while."

  
  


Legolas thanked him and then quickly returned to his task of preparing for the dance. There was much to do in a very short amount of time. 

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


News spread like wildfire throughout the realm of the Wood Elves. By the time Duo and Heero had returned to their rooms, there were already outfits layed out for the Ball that evening. 

  
  


Both Man and Elf left it until the very last minute to prepare themselves, and even then, they did it without much enthusiasm. Neither wanting the company of a great many people. 

  
  


While getting ready, Duo pulled the hair at the sides of his face out the way, and tied it back with a small braid that fell along the back of his loose hair. He then pulled on the Elven Robe, which was a colour that seemed to change in the light from a rich grey to a deep blue as he walked through the room. Lastly he exited his room only to find Heero waiting outside patiently at the stop of the stairs, wearing an even nicer outfit than he had on before. He still wore pants, which was expected of a Human. But the fabric was clearly Elven, and made to accentuate the finer details of the Human body. Something Duo didn't especially like since he thought there were no finer details on the Human Body and would rather not be forced to look at them all night. 

  
  


He cursed inwardly, wondering why the Wood Elves had put their rooms so close together. Hadn't he spent enough time with that Human as it was without having to see him wherever he exited his own room?! 

  
  


Heero walked over to where Duo stood scowling, and quickly explained his presence before the Elf could suspect anything. 

  
  


"The Maidens kept trying to escort me to the Ball, and since I was less then eager to go, I told them I was waiting until you were ready to leave."

  
  


Duo accepted his excuse without a word and led the way downstairs, oblivious to the approving look he was receiving from Heero behind him. 

  
  


Heero hadn't lied at all, he had been stalling to leave, and Duo had been a perfect excuse not to leave with those curious Elven Maidens, especially the most persistent of them all, Calencoire. Who had insisted on waiting on him until he had offered her a dance that evening, but only if she went on in before him. 

  
  


In the end the truth still was he was curious to what Duo would look like wearing an Elven Robe again. He could still remember how stunning he had looked back at Lord Elrond's banquet. Putting all the grace of Elves to shame with the simplest of walks. 

  
  


Whatever spell that Duo now held over the Ranger was quickly broken as they neared the entrance to the Great Hall. Duo turned to face Heero and made it clear what he thought about attending the affaire in Heero's presence.

  
  


"You can spend all the time you want making light conversation with my people. But I wish only to be left alone to my thoughts. So please don't humour me into thinking you actually value my company, when we both know that you are sick of it after these past long weeks."

  
  


He then turned from Heero and strode into the Great Hall with more grace then ever, impressing even the Elves who'd met him before. Whispers of, "The Heir of Voronwë is here!", could be heard flittering about the room in awe. 

  
  


Heero was inwardly upset by Duo's words, but pleased at the same time that Duo had taken away some of the attention off of himself as he entered the room. Although it wasn't long before it was discovered he too had arrived, and many Elves, of both sexes, came to ask him questions, and beg Tales from his lips.

  
  


Elves were always fond of songs, and dances, and they were especially fond of stories and poems, which might explain their obsession with Rangers. But they could not have been stuck with a worse storyteller, for Heero hated large crowds, and spent most of the evening just trying to politely exit group after group that managed to surrounded him. 

  
  


Since King Thranduile wasn't the only one fond of wine in Mirkwood, there was an abundance of every kind to be found, and soon after the wine was drunk, the dancing started. Many of the Elves ran to be the first to ask Heero for a dance, and to Heero's great surprise, a few of the Elves were male. This managed to disturb him a bit, but he politely declined their offers. 

  
  


He accepted a dance with the Maiden he promised, and so as to not seem as if he favoured only her, he danced with a few other Maidens who were only too glad for the opportunity. 

  
  


Before he knew it, almost three hours had passed by, and Heero realized with a start that Duo had already left the party long ago. In fact, he couldn't even remember seeing the Elf since when they'd first arrived. Upset by the turn of events, and maybe saddened still by Duo's earlier words, Heero once again politely excused himself from another group of Elves. He soon made his way outdoors for a bit of fresh air, and a chance to see the beautiful Mirkwood at night. 

  
  


He walked leisurely around the main household, taking in the feeling it gave off when only lit by the bright moon above. He was soon on the other side of the House, and could no longer see the lights or hear the loud music from the Great Hall. This calmed him greatly, as did the serenity that the forest garden gave off. It felt comforting, and seemed to refreshen his soul. 

  
  


Without even being aware of it, he had found the spot where Duo had run off to. Heero immediately recognized the figure of Duo sitting beneath a particularly large Oak by a small trickling stream. He silently walked up beside the large tree, but not before admiring Duo from afar. Enjoying how the moon played off of his lovely face, and changed the colour of his Robe to a Midnight Blue. 

  
  


Surprising the young Elf, Heero spoke in a soft deep voice. "I know you wished to be alone, but no one should be alone on such beautiful night."

  
  


Duo's sad eyes looked up Heero in defeat, he'd obviously been thinking about something that was painful to him, and was in no mood to argue with Heero. 

  
  


"I'm never alone Ranger, not when I'm always surrounded by my past."

  
  


Heero took the invitation that was not offered, and sat down to next to Duo, keeping a safe distance between them. He hesitated before speaking, knowing that in the past he'd always managed to mess up every time he'd tried just to make simple conversation with the Elf.

  
  


"You never told me your name was Dûrelen."

  
  


"Would it have mattered?"

  
  


"No, but I still would have liked to know."

  
  


"Fine! If you must know everything about me, which you do not! When I was first brought to Rivendell I wouldn't speak with anyone. I remained in my bedroom for weeks, refusing to open up for any reason. Because of this, the Elves in Rivendell slowly got into the habit of calling me Dúos, which means Dark Fortress in our language. When I finally did open up, it seemed cruel to continue to call me Dùos, but by that time they'd already grown so accostomed to calling me it that they turned to calling me Duo for short. Are you satisfied now? Have I appeased your Human curiosity enough for you to leave me alone? Besides, you're the last person who should be concerned about my secrecy. I know almost nothing about you."

  
  


"I would tell you if you asked it of me."

  
  


"Well I'm not asking. I don't care about your past, or you!"

  
  


Heero thought hard about what Duo was saying. There was more being said now then what was at face value, but he couldn't see what. So Heero returned to the topic of Duo's past.

  
  


"Maybe you wouldn't always be surrounded by your past if you learned to let it go a little." Heero finally said, holding his breath as he waited to hear what Duo's reply would be.

  
  


"Don't you think I've tried? But every time I close my eyes I experience the past all over again. And every time I open them, I just see you."

  
  


"Do I remind you that much of your past?" Heero asked, already aware of the answer.

  
  


"Yes! And more so than any other Human I've ever known since that time in my life."

  
  


"Why?"

  
  


"Because . . . " Duo was now becoming frustrated, but more with himself then at Heero. " Because I'm tempted to forgive you! I'm tempted to think of you as someone with compassion. I'm even tempted to think of you as a friend. But I can't! I just can't let that happen. I've made that mistake before in my life, and I know what's come of it. If I seem cruel and unfair to you, it's only because that's what history has taught me. I will not change, no matter how understanding you try to be."

  
  


Heero looked long at the helplessness in Duo's expression, and even began to stare deep into his pain filled eyes. Despite what was being said, it warmed him greatly to think that Duo had actually considered befriending him. That some small part of him might actually be getting through to Duo.

  
  


"I'm going to ask Legolas to take you back to Rivendell. He and his father have both said you are no longer needed to seek out Aragorn since the danger is already known to him. Legolas needs to go out to Rivendell anyway to explain what happened with Gollum, and from there you can go back to your own land. I don't think it would be wise for me to be around you anymore."

  
  


Now it was Heero's turn to feel helpless and frustrated. 

  
  


"You're going to give up on me so easily. If you do now, you'll never be able to see any good in Humankind."

  
  


"There is no good in Humankind." Duo shot back.

  
  


"Yes, there is! If I have not proven that to you by now, I don't think there is anything I can do to prove otherwise. I have risked my life countless times for you, I have not once harmed you while you've slept in my care. And I have never betrayed you since the morning we left Rivendell. Is that not enough for you to trust me?"

  
  


Duo stood up in anger, clearly unhappy with the way the conversation was turning out. 

  
  


"Don't you understand anything I've said to you at all Heero?" Duo was now yelling, not even noticing that he'd called the Ranger by his name for the first time. "I already DO trust you! That's the problem! I've trusted you since that time you chose to pull me out of a sure death in water filled with my own blood. And I really don't want to be around to find out if I've just made another big mistake."

  
  


Duo actually tried to then walk off, but Heero quickly stood up and grabbed him by his arm, pulling Duo back to where he stood. He accentuated every word he said so that Duo would be sure to not misunderstand him. 

  
  


"You're not the only person who has troubles putting their trust in others. And for reasons I can only guess at, I've put mine in you. No matter who you ask, I'm not going back to Rivendell, I'm going further South to see what I can learn of this Evil rising. What lies there is completely unfamiliar to me, so I need a guide, and I don't want Legolas, I want you!" Heero yelled out the last three words, furious that Duo was even thinking of just leaving him like this. 

  
  


He surprised Duo, and even himself, in the ferocity in which he said these words, and quickly realized that he had been holding onto Duo's arm too tightly. But if Duo was in any pain, he showed no sign of it. 

  
  


Instead he just stood there, eyes wide and mouth partially opened as if he were going to say something but had forgotten what it was he had wanted to say. 

  
  


Heero let him ago, ashamed for having grabbed Duo in that way, and watched as the Elf took a few fumbling steps backwards. He didn't look scared, but he did look stunned. Duo continued to stare at Heero for a few more seconds before he finally managed to think of something to say. He replied in a calm voice that one might use when answering whether or not to wear blue or green that day.

  
  


"All right then . . . If you want, we'll go south . . . We can leave tomorrow. " Then at a loss for words again, he turned to leave. "Good Night to you Heero."

  
  


He calmly walked back towards the Main Hall without once looking back, he would mostly likely head straight for bed. 

  
  


Heero was left standing by the large Oak in wonderment. What had just happened? Had Duo really just agreed out of his own free will to accompany him south as a guide? Heero hadn't even known he had planned to go south until the moment he'd told Duo. But yes, that was exactly what he now wanted to do. 

  
  


He would go south, see what else he could learn, and hopefully help out in some way of his own. And Duo would take him there.

  
  


Duo had said as much, despite his confusion towards Heero, despite his lingering hatred for Heero, despite all that, Duo would take him there. 

  
  
  
  


TBC . . . 

  
  
  
  


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King Thranduile: Yes, he loved the wine. In the book "The Hobbit" that was how Bilbo escaped him, using barrels of empty wine to hide the Dwarves from the Wood Elves while Thranduile held himself ANOTHER party. (As we all know, Elves do not like Dwarves, eg Legolas' initial hatred of Gimli the Dwarf) 

  
  


Galion the Butler: Was in The Hobbit as well. He passed out from extra strong wine he snuck away from the King. 

  
  


Calencoire: Hee hee, ok, this was my little joke. There is a WONDERFUL site called The Barrow- Downs, where you can type your name and it'll give you your Elven name. I typed in RELENA and it came up with this :)

  
  


The Barrow-Downs: http://www.barrowdowns.com/Welcome.asp

  
  
  
  


Again I humbly beg for comments and reviews. I'm really enjoying some of the insightful things you guys are commenting on.

  
  


Sony_Mouse@hotmail.com

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  



	5. The South

Title: Rivendell 5/?

  
  


Author: Sony_Mouse

  
  


Pairings: 1+2+1

  
  


Warnings: Fusion (of sorts), Tolkien LOTR Characters, violence 

  
  


Archives: GWA (if you want my fic, you can have it, just tell me where your site is)

  
  


Disclaimers: ALL characters belong to either Sunrise, or Tolkien (or in a way, Peter Jackson :)

  
  


Notes: I have been on a huge LOTR binge lately (which is probably, no which IS the reason why you're getting these parts out so quickly.) I'm re-reading the books, I'm watching the LOTR extended DVD on a daily basis (so many fun extras to go through) not to mention the great audio commentary by cast. In the end, it just puts me in a mood to write more of this fac. The good news for all of you is that the movie is about to come out, and then I'll most likely be UNSTOPPABLE. :)

  
  
  
  


*************************

  
  
  
  


"All right then . . . If you want, we'll go south . . . We can leave tomorrow. " Then at a loss for words again, he turned to leave. "Good Night to you Heero."

  
  


He calmly walked back towards the Main Hall without once looking back, he would mostly likely head straight for bed. 

  
  


Heero was left standing by the large Oak in wonderment. What had just happened? Had Duo really just agreed out of his own free will to accompany him south as a guide? Heero hadn't even known he had planned to go south until the moment he'd told Duo. But yes, that was exactly what he now wanted to do. 

  
  


He would go south, see what else he could learn, and hopefully help out in some way of his own. And Duo would take him there.

  
  


Duo had said as much, despite his confusion towards Heero, despite his lingering hatred for Heero, despite all that, Duo would take him there.

  
  
  
  


Chapter 5: The South

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Two roads diverged in a wood, and I . . .

I took the one less travelled by, 

And that has made all the difference.

-Robert Frost, The Road Not Taken

  
  
  
  
  
  


The decision to leave so soon was not taken well at all by the King of Mirkwood, he had hoped his guests would at least stay for a couple of weeks or more. Despite this, he couldn't stop their leaving, and wouldn't have tried if he could. The news was also made worse when King Thranduil learned that his only son Legolas planned to leave him as well, at the earliest possible opportunity. 

  
  


All minds were made up and soon after Heero and Duo left Mirkwood, Legolas would make his own way up to Rivendell. He hoped to bring news of Gollum's escape, the attack of Orcs, and of course, of Duo's well-being. 

  
  


So on the morning after the Royal Ball, King Thranduil was forced against his wishes to stand outside the Elvenking's Gate and say farewell to his guests. He had not tasted any wine since the night before, and was entirely sober for the departure. 

  
  


With his son at his side, King Thranduil walked elegantly up to the Ranger Heero, and placed in his hand an Elven blade made in the Woods of Mirkwood. Touched by the lovely offer, Heero begged not to be given such a gift.

  
  


"I thank you greatly for your kindness, but a gift so fine would be impossible for me to accept."

  
  


The King smiled with wisdom in his eyes, something Heero had somehow overlooked when the King had sat drunken upon his throne.

  
  


"You have lost the most important thing a Ranger can have at his side, you've lost your sword, and you did so for the life of an Elf. That noble act in itself deserves a reward. Do not worry yourself Ranger, this sword does not hide what you call 'Elven Magic', nor is it the finest of all our weapons. But it was made by the Elves of Mirkwood, and that alone should be reason enough for you to have it on your side during your dangerous journey south."

  
  


Unable to possible say no, Heero accepted the gift with gratitude, knowing this sword was worth at least ten times the one he had lost.

  
  


The King turned to the Elf Butler Galion who stood behind him, and nodded towards him. His servant then bowed low to the king before handing him a finely crafted spear. King Thranduil took it and walked slowly away from Heero until he stood in front of the Gondolindrim Elf, Duo, Son of Voronwë. As he had done with Heero, he presented the spear to Duo as a gift.

  
  


"I am sorry I cannot offer you any of our horses. They are all needed at this time. But instead I offer you a weapon that is good use in long walks. May it be as useful to you, as the spear Aiglos was to the Great Gil-Galad of Ages past."

  
  


Unlike Heero, Duo accepted the gift right away, trying hard to hide the joy that filled his entire being at his new weapon being compared to that of his hero and idle Gil-Galad. Duo bowed low before the King and murmured his thanks in Elvish.

  
  


The King waved farewell to both his departing guests, and then feeling that his work was done, he returned through his Great Gate with his small entourage of servants trailing behind him. The only Elf who now remained was Legolas. He took his father's absence as a chance to say goodbye in a much less formal way. 

  
  


"It is a shame that I am not to travel to Rivendell with your company Ranger, but I will make the best of it."

  
  


Duo huffed at this. 

  
  


"It's a shame for both of us Legolas." 

  
  


The young Prince laughed lightly and gave Duo a knowing look.

  
  


"Do not feel so badly for yourself. It could be worse. It is better to have the company of a noble Ranger than say that of a Dwarf." 

  
  


Both Legolas and Duo smiled at the small joke, but it seemed to go over Heero's head. Although Heero knew about the bad relations between Elves and Dwarves, he would have had to have been one to understand how deeply that mistrust went.

  
  


"I fear in this instance I would even prefer the company of a Dwarf over that of Heero, however . . . " Duo paused before going on, knowing that the Ranger could hear every word they spoke. "Heero has proven himself as noble as you say. I may not desire his company, but his skills will be a great asset." 

  
  


Heero had to repress the smile that threatened to sneak onto his face. This new journey may not be as bad as he feared. At least Duo was willing to admit he had some good qualities.

  
  


"I wish you success on your journey South, and I hope to have success on my own journey to Rivendell. Despite my father's misgivings, I'm eager to travel to the House of Elrond, and admit only to you that I although I love my father dearly, a small reprise from him might do us both good."

  
  


Thinking back at their first audience with the King, Heero had to agree with the young Prince. "I also wish you success on your journey, Prince of Mirkwood."

  
  


The conversation at an end, Legolas turned to Duo and spoke to him in Elvish.

  
  


" Andelu i ven, Duo Voronwëion. Nai tiruantel ar varyuvantel i Valar tielyanna nu vilya."

  
  


Duo nodded his head in understanding, enjoying at the same time how it annoyed Heero would be to hear him speaking in the Elvish Language. Knowing that the Ranger could speak none of the Elvish Languages at all. 

  
  


Legolas turned to face both Elf and Man. 

  
  


"Namárie Duo Verowëion! Namárie Heero Herumorion!

  
  


Ready to reply, Duo was surprised when it was Heero who answered appropriately. 

  
  


"Namárie Legolas Thranduilion"

  
  


Legolas then waved farewell to both travellers in an Elvish fashion before turning to reenter through the Elvenking's Gate, fallowing his father's footsteps. 

  
  


Duo immediately turned to face Heero, his spear subconsciously pointed towards the Ranger. 

  
  


"Since when have you spoken Elvish, and in the Quenyan Dialect none the less?"

  
  


Heero smirked to himself, trying to act as if he was hiding some great secret, but seeing the spear pointed innocently in his direction, he answered truthfully. 

  
  


"I have never spoken Elvish in my life. However, I have been forced to learn simple greetings in many different languages throughout my travels. So I am still ignorant to what Legolas said to you in confidence."

  
  


Slightly relieved, Duo relaxed and began to walk down the path that wove through the forest.

  
  


"He warned me that the road we now travel on is a dangerous one, and then he wished us well, saying 'May the Valar protect you on your path under the sky'. It's the Elven way of saying farewell."

  
  


Believing Duo, Heero began to walk as well and quickly caught up to the Elf. As he walked besides Duo, he still held his sword in hand, and turned it over and over again to inspect the Elven inscription. He could read none of it, but found the design to be one he liked greatly. If Duo remained friendly with him today, he might even ask him over the campfire what the words meant. He hoped that they would have other friendly things to discuss as well. 

  
  


Sheathing his new sword in his scabbard, Heero took the opportunity to look over at Duo. The young Elf now had his hair done up on a long braid that trailed down his back, leaving only a few long strands in front of his Elven ears. The strands had somehow managed to escape from the confines of the braid. Heero felt that it only added to his fine features. Duo had also returned to wearing his green and brown travelling clothes, now well washed by the Wood Elves, and as always, had at his side the useful Elven dagger. 

  
  


Heero had also reverted to his normal clothes, feeling much more comfortable in them then in anything else. His new blade hung at his side, and his cloak, cleaned of Duo's blood, was once again wrapped around his shoulders.

  
  


They walked with much caution, knowing that although the realm of the Wood Elves was once again safe, Orcs had stayed around its borders in an attempt to scare visitors off, and for other reasons that neither Heero nor Duo could yet guess at. 

  
  


They travelled South for three days without problems. They'd even managed to keep their fighting to a minimum, not wanting any Orcs to hear their loud confrontations. But even as hard as they both tried, and as badly as Heero wanted them to be friendly towards each other, they kept settling into their old ways and would begin to fight.

  
  


By the forth day they had nearly reached the Southern edge of Mirkwood when they came across a small stream that gently cut its way through the forest. Duo had been weary of any streams, pools or waterfalls ever since that incident with the Water Creature, but even he could not argue Heero's reason for stopping. They needed to refill their water supply since it would be awhile yet until they reached the Great River. 

  
  


They decided they would stay there for lunch since it was a nice spot, but feeling the need not to repeat history, Duo spoke strong against staying there any longer, and kept the farthest away from the stream as possible. He let Heero refill their water supply while he ate some an apple he found in the trees and watched him. 

  
  


The Ranger had already taken off his long cloak and laid it on the ground for them to sit on while they ate, and had long since taken off his black leather coat since the weather was so humid during the day and he had built up a sweat from all the walking they'd done. So as he knelt by the stream, Heero began to take off his cotton shirt and roll it up into a loose ball. This left his arms and chest completely free of obstruction, much to Duo's great annoyance. 

  
  


"What are you thinking Heero? Haven't you learned anything from our last trip, I would not bathe in that water if I were as unwashed as you!" 

  
  


Glaring over at Duo, Heero continued to roll his shirt. "I'm not taking a bath, I'm soaking my shirt in the cold water so I'll have something cool to wear over my body." 

  
  


Duo sneered at this, not enjoying the view of Heero's body one bit. He'd never seen Heero without a shirt on before, and he didn't like it. It was the same thing as when they were at the ball, and Heero had worn the fancy Elven clothes that accentuated different parts of his Human body, Duo hadn't liked that either. Human bodies were generally broader than Elves, not nearly as lithe in form, and usually had more muscle showing along their arms and chest. Heero was no exception, years of training in the wild had toned his body considerably, and Duo knew he wasn't weak since he'd fought with him on several occasions. Although Elves didn't look as tough as Humans did, they were usually stronger, owing to many other things that Elves had and Humans didn't.

  
  


Duo made a face at Heero to show his displeasure of having to see the Ranger like this. Why couldn't Heero have a smaller frame, like Elladan, or Elrohir, or Legolas even? Why did he have to look like he did? He looked like a Human, and for some reason Duo found that made him extremely uncomfortable. 

  
  


As Duo started to thinking just why it made him uncomfortable, he slowly slipped into thinking about his past. Heero, who was watching Duo as well, could see the look that Duo was now giving him, and he slowly saw it change from that of disgust to a badly hidden worry in his eyes and far off look. Placing the now wet shirt over his body, Heero walked back to Duo and leaned over him, thinking that the Elf had heard and saw him approaching. He spoke in a defensive tone, slightly hurt by Duo's feelings towards his own body.

  
  


"You could have just turned your head as I changed, if you found it so offensive." 

  
  


Duo suddenly screamed in surprise, panic clearly in his voice, he pulled his dagger from his side and roughly pinned Heero to the ground, dagger biting at his throat. 

  
  


Heero looked up into Duo's frantic eyes in shock, afraid to even speak while Duo could kill him with the smallest flick of his wrist. He tried to convey in his eyes that he wasn't going to fight back, and waited as patiently as he could under the circumstances for Duo to calm down. 

  
  


Duo did finally calm down as soon he saw a thin red trail of blood trickling down Heero's neck where his dagger was pressed against it. His eyes widened as he realized that he had Heero pinned underneath him helpless to fight back. Without even bothering to get up, or even remove his dagger from Heero's neck, Duo began to scream loudly at the helpless Ranger. Furious at him for reasons he himself didn't even understand.

  
  


"You bastard! Don't you ever sneak up on me again like that again! I nearly killed you! I wish I HAD killed you. I can't stand you. Why do you continuously do this to me?" 

  
  


Amid Duo's loud rantings, Heero's own temper got the better of him. He didn't know what the hell Duo was talking about, but he knew it wasn't his fault that Duo had reacted badly. To add to it all, he was still upset that Duo had seemed to be so disgusted towards his body when Duo's own body was all Heero could think about. Feeling his anger rise, Heero pushed Duo off of him with much more force then necessary. He watched with a small sense of victory as Duo flailed to the ground, dagger in hand. It didn't last long, and Duo was once again standing up, dagger at the read to slice Heero open if he so much as advanced a step. Heero did advance, yelling just as loudly as Duo had only moments before. 

  
  


"You can't stand ME? Well I definitely can't stand you. You are nothing but a self-righteous, stuck up, annoying, immature Elven brat who can't bear to admit when he's wrong. And you're wrong. You're always wrong!" 

  
  


Hearing the insults, Duo lunged for Heero with his knife, missing him, but just barely. He was even more upset now then before. "Well if I'm such a horrible person then maybe you shouldn't have asked me to take you South. You should have just gone home where you belong. Your plan to go South was foolish in the first place. I don't even know why I agreed."

  
  


Trying to advance again, Heero made a grab for the knife, missing it entirely. 

  
  


"Well why did you agree to come? You obviously can't stand to be around me. Everything I do disgusts you. My plans disgust you, my ideas disgust you, even my body disgusts you. If only I was as great as you then maybe I wouldn't have made the mistake of coming to tell Aragorn something he had already known. Or maybe I wouldn't have lost my sword in that pool of water. And maybe I wouldn't have made the biggest mistake of all, saving your life!" Heero was now playing off of his insecurities, but was too mad to notice.

  
  


Duo sneered back at Heero. "Well maybe I didn't want you to save my life. Maybe I would have rather died then spend one more moment with you and your 'disgusting' body!" He accented the word 'disgusting', not knowing just how much he was hurting Heero by doing so. 

  
  


Apparently it was too much, because Heero completely lost it then. He grabbed one last time for Duo's dagger, only getting it this time because he let it cut him clean across his palm as he held onto it with a firm grip. He then pulled Duo tightly against him.

  
  


Duo didn't resist, but only because he was slightly stunned by his blade cutting deep into Heero's hand. But Heero still had one good hand, and with it he grabbed the back of Duo's head, drawing it in towards his him until he was able to force Duo's lips tightly against his own. 

  
  


Heero kissed him hungrily, with all the drive in his body, not ever wanting to let the Duo go. He wanted this, he needed this, and it was Duo's fault for making him feel this way. He wasn't disgusting, his body wasn't disgusting, and he would show Duo just that. 

  
  


He let go of Duo's dagger so that he could wrap his bloodied hand around Duo and pull the startled Elf closer to him. In the distance of his mind he heard the dagger drop softly to the ground as it fell from Duo's weakened grip. 

As much as his body needed Duo in that moment, it also needed air, and he was forced to pull away marginally for a brief second. He would have begun the kiss all over again if he hadn't at that moment caught sight of the look in Duo's eyes.

  
  


The Elf was stunned, absolutely stunned. Shock wasn't even a strong enough word to describe how deeply he was surprised by Heero's completely unexpected actions. He just continued to stare at Heero as if he were an apparition and not real, because this couldn't really be happening. 

  
  


Seeing all this, Heero slowly let him go, scared at once by the look in those normally cold eyes. Duo immediately backed up and stared in confusion at Heero. His mind just not being able to grasp the idea that Heero, had just pulled him in close and kissed him. The same Heero who was a Human!

  
  


When the fact finally did set itself into Duo's mind, he was furious. So much so that he couldn't even speak anymore. He took one sure step towards the Ranger, raised his fist, and hit him as hard as could in the face. 

  
  


Heero's head wiped back from the blow, but his body hadn't moved an inch. Without making a move to step forward, he slowly brought his head back around to look directly at Duo, his eyes begging for Duo to forgive him, to somehow understand his actions, but he wasn't even sure if he understood why he did it. It was just something he had to do. While they had fought, his whole body had screamed at him to make Duo understand him, and then he had just kissed him. And the truth was, he didn't regret it for one second. 

  
  


Had Duo gotten more of chance, he might have regretted it very quickly, but at that moment the very Orcs they had been cautioned about had chosen that moment to attack. 

  
  


They had heard the two fighting, and had came at least 70 strong to kill or capture whoever it was stupid enough to be yelling in their new territory. 

  
  


Duo and Heero immediately forgot their own problems and reached for their weapons. Duo picked up his spear and Duo unsheathed his sword. The attack came from all sides, but they weren't about to let that stop them. Both being able fighters, they slashed their way through the fighting Orcs. Heero soon finding out that his new blade could cut through even the toughest of Orcs. Duo was just piercing the hearts, necks and heads of any Orc that came near him, taking out ALL of his frustration on them.

  
  


Despite all this, it wasn't enough. They were outnumbered, and soon found more Orcs were coming to aid their fallen friends. Just as it was getting bad, it soon got worse. Heero was forced to use both his hands at one point to stop an attacking Orc, but the blood from his cut left hand made the sword's handle slippery. He accidentally let the sword slip through his fingers and fall far enough away that he couldn't reach it. 

  
  


The Orc he was fighting actually smiled as he brought up his rusty sword to stab through Heero's heart. Heero couldn't get away fast enough and dreaded the blow that was now sure to come. Instead he saw a spearhead cut through the Orc's torso, nearly piercing himself in the process. It was Duo, he'd compromised his own position to help out Heero, although Duo didn't seem too happy about it. 

  
  


He picked up Heero's sword and quickly flung it at the fallen Ranger. "Start killing before I skewer you like the worthless Human you are."

Heero took the sword eagerly, but even as he began to fight again, knew that the battle was lost. There were just too many of them. 

  
  


This would have remained true, if it hadn't been for an outside attack suddenly picking off Orcs from behind. Both Duo and Heero could hear a loud battle cry as the unexpected help came to their rescue, helping them kill all the Orcs until not a single one was left standing. 

  
  
  
  


Surveying the damage, Heero immediately looked to see if Duo was injured in the fight. He soon spotted him, only to see him being attacked by one of their saviours. 

  
  


To Heero's great surprise he noticed that it was a small band of Dwarves that had saved them, and a few of them were trying to hack Duo's legs off with their large axes.

  
  


Duo was well able to handle the situation, being more than an experienced fighter, but what made Heero really hesitate to help him was when he noticed the amused looks coming from all the other Dwarves. They were obviously just teasing the Young Elf and greatly enjoying it. 

  
  


Heero immediately ran up to the oldest looking Dwarf and thrust his sword to his neck, speaking in a deadly tone. "Call him then off NOW!" The Dwarf sighed loudly, as if Heero had spoiled as his fun and yelled something out in Dwarvish that made the attackers suddenly stop and back safely away from Duo. 

  
  


As soon as Heero had lowered his sword the old Dwarf calmly turned to face him. "It's not often that we find Elves alone, you should let us have our fun, especially since we just saved you."

  
  


"It was much appreciated, but not enough that I wouldn't kill you if he was harmed in any way during your 'fun'."

  
  


All the Dwarves seemed to chuckle at this and placed their axes down for the moment. Duo no longer glared at Heero and took to giving dirty looks to each one of the Dwarves. He started to walk to Heero's side out of habit, but stopped himself and stayed a few yards away. 

  
  


"We're glad our help was appreciated, but we should thank you Human. The chance to kill Orcs is always a delight for us, Dwarves. Allow me to introduce myself, my name is Dór, and I'm the leader of this fine group of Dwarves." 

  
  


Dór, who was really only a bit taller than Heero's waist, began to name off every single one of the seventeen Dwarves standing around still chuckling at Duo. Heero had no chance of remembering any of their names, but offered his none the less. 

  
  


"I am the Ranger Heero, and this is . . . " As always Duo interrupted him before he could finish. 

  
  


"I am Duo, and I would warn you to watch what you say about me Dwarves. The only reason why I didn't kill your fighting companions here was out of thanks for saving our lives. Do not think I would ever hesitate to kill a Dwarf."

  
  


Heero could feel the tension building all around him, and was amazed that for once he was barely part of the focus. Duo seemed to have forgotten his hatred against him for the moment, but seeing the dangerous look in his eyes, Heero knew it wouldn't last long. 

  
  


Dór looked at Duo and then back at Heero. "So why is an Elf and a Human travelling around these parts together? An unusual combination if I do say so myself." 

  
  


Heero wiped the black Orc blood off his blade before once again sheathing it. "The Heir of Voronwë has been so kind as to agree to guide me south. We are travelling that way to seek out some business of ours."

  
  


The Dwarves immediately went silent, and all that could be heard was the exasperated sigh coming from Duo. Obviously Heero had said something the Elf hadn't wanted the Dwarves to hear. 

  
  


It was Dór who first spoke again. "HE is the Heir of Voronwë. I should say he knows these parts well enough then to guide a hundred Men like you." Heero looked puzzled enough for the Dwarf to continue. "Do you not even know who you travel with? It is a wonder he does not slit your throat while you sleep."

  
  


Managing to hide his expression of curiosity, Heero made his voice sound as uninterested as possible. "It seems that everyone else has heard of the famous 'Heir of Voronwë', but me."

  
  


Dór chuckled out loud again."You would have to be from these parts to know why he's so famous. I was not alive at that time, it must have been a good thousand years ago, but the stories still remain of the savage Elf who lived. in the wild."

  
  


Duo remained silent through all of this, but was clearly unhappy with his being talked about. Heero noticed this and had to hold back his curiosity until a later date, this conversation was clearly taking its toll on Duo if he was silent throughout it all. 

  
  


"If it was a thousand years ago, then I'm sure it must have been a different Elf. Now there are more important things for us to discuss than the possible story of some legendary savage."

  
  


Dór now looked annoyed. "It's not just some story. Dwarves are very careful with how we keep our history. And that Elf standing there looks at the very least a thousand years old, I'd say much more in fact. I wouldn't expect a Human to know their ages, no offence meant, but we Dwarves live longer than you do. Which is still nothing compared to the Elves." 

  
  


Heero realized with a start that he didn't even know Duo's age. Of course he had known that Elves lived long lives, they were after all immortal, unless killed by a wound. But Duo had never talked about his age. Still . . . he surely couldn't be that old.

  
  


"I'm 1,678 years old." said Duo in a mocking voice, almost as if it was worth hearing about his past just to prove Heero wrong. "And you must be mistaken with your history, I was much too young to be the Elf you speak of, I was only 50 at the time of those rumours. And the Ranger is right for once, we have more important things to discuss than Dwarvish bedtime stories. The Ranger and I are going to head south until Nightfall, then make camp. You're 'welcome' to join us is you want, in thanks for helping us out, but do not feel obligated. We all know the important work Dwarves have to do."

  
  


The sarcasm in Duo's voice was skilfully held just beneath the surface, but it was enough to make Dór start to growl. " We would love to camp with you for one night Elf. Seeing as you just came from the Wood Elves and have brought food with you. We may as well have some supper before we are off. We doubt the Wood Elves will be so generous to us."

  
  


Not smiling in the least, Duo leaned down to pick up Heero's discarded cloak and mashed it together in a ball. He then threw it hard at the rangers face before leading the band of hungry Dwarves to the south where they were get some dinner. 

  
  


As he stalked past Heero, he quickly muttered something only that only they could hear. "You have amazing luck today Ranger. First to be saved by Orcs, and then by Dwarves. I wonder who will save you when we are finally alone!"

  
  


TBC . . .

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


Ah my notes for this chapter...

  
  


ELVISH: Yes, that was the real thing, I aimed to be VERY exact, and ended up just using translations from a very nifty site. But it is the real thing. And the observant reader might have noticed I added -ion to their names in Elvish, that's because -ion means -Son of So Duo Voronwë (or Duo, Son of Voronwë) because Duo Voronwëion. Ok, it was interesting when I learned it... lol 

  
  


DWARVES: I was too tired to actually research any Dwarvish speech for you to hear. But if you want to read some, then here. "Ishkhaqwi ai durugnul" I don't know what it means, but it's supposed to be very rude ;)

  
  


But yes, I just had to write them in. If Duo didn't have enough people around him he didn't like, now he's got Dwarves. But he doesn't hate them, they just annoy him (he mistrust them) as all Elves do.

  
  
  
  
  
  
  
  


I'm getting more nervous with every chapter I come out with, (I'm nervous about the kiss scene in this one) but it's basically because I'm getting deeper in the plot, and each time I write a new one I have to wonder if I did that last one justice or if it's going downhill. But those are just my insecurities lol. I recently read a fic were the author was proud that she never begged for comments. And I thought "God, are we two different people!" 

  
  


In other words, comments are always very appreciated, help me write more, sometimes even give me ideas, and always give me confidence. So comment away lol 

  
  


Sony_Mouse@hotmail.com

  
  



	6. The Encounter

  
  


Title: Rivendell 6/?

  
  


Author: Sony_Mouse

  
  


Pairings: 1+2+1

  
  


Warnings: Fusion (of sorts), Tolkien LOTR Characters, violence 

  
  


Archives: GWA (if you want my fic, you can have it, just tell me where your site is)

  
  


Disclaimers: ALL characters belong to either Sunrise, or Tolkien (or in a way, Peter Jackson. :)

  
  


Author's Notes: You know I spent three hours this morning on the internet trying to avoid doing the one thing I was dying to do, write this chapter. And that's me in a nutshell, I'm even lazy when it' something I WANT to do. HOWEVER my procrastination allowed me to find some cute pictures (which I'll post at the bottom) of some of the characters in my story (Elladan, ECT). I think now you'll have a better appreciation of just how lazy I am, and how AMAZING it is that I'm actually getting these chapters out so quickly, and if any of you were fans of my earlier work, you might actually already KNOW how long it usually takes me to get out other chapters (that said, those other stories WILL be finished before I write ANOTHER story. I promise. :) 

  
  
  
  


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Not smiling in the least, Duo leaned down to pick up Heero's discarded cloak and mashed it together in a ball. He then threw it hard at the rangers face before leading the band of hungry Dwarves to the south where they were get some dinner. 

  
  


As he stalked past Heero, he quickly muttered something only that only they could hear. "You have amazing luck today Ranger. First to be saved by Orcs, and then by Dwarves, I wonder who will save you when we are finally alone!"

  
  
  
  


Chapter 6: The Encounter

  
  


"When you encounter difficulties and contradictions, do not try to break them, but bend them with gentleness and time." 

-Saint Francis de Sales

  
  
  
  
  
  


The long silent walk until nightfall went by much quicker than Duo would have liked. In no time the mixed band of Human, Elf and Dwarves alike, were settling down for their evening meal. Immediately the Dwarves started to talk cheerfully and loudly amongst themselves, happy to be getting a warm meal. 

  
  


As promised, Duo presented the group with much of the food King Thranduil had given him before leaving the Wood Elves. He was not happy in the least with having to share it with them, but he was true to his word at all times and made their meal as pleasant as possible. This basically meant that Duo didn't speak a single word while he prepared the supper, knowing that as soon as he did a fight would quickly follow.

  
  


When he finished the preparations, Duo announced that supper was ready to be eaten, and he silently left the large group of Dwarves so that he could sit as far away as possible, while still in eyesight of the group. He didn't take any food with him since he wasn't feeling particularly hungry at the moment, nor did he want to have any conversation with Heero or any of the Dwarves. 

  
  


Heero picked up on this quickly and gave up on his own supper to get a chance to speak with the upset Elf, but Duo never gave him the chance. The moment he would even step in Duo's direction, the Elf would put up a hand in warning that it would not be wise to speak with him at the present moment. 

  
  


Since Heero still felt horrible about what had happened earlier, he would sit back down without argument, and try to ignore the loud conversation of the Dwarves next to him. He felt like Duo was slowly torturing him as he waited to be reprimanded for kissing him. Duo's promise of death almost looked like a pleasant alternative compared to this. Heero didn't even bother to try and hide the way he felt anymore. He felt simply wretched, and it showed clearly on his face. 

  
  


Heero also wanted to be left alone, but couldn't leave the Dwarves alone with their supplies, even if they had saved them. Because of this, the Dwarves were unwilling to let him be. The one sitting directly next to Heero nudged him slightly with his gloved hand, and commented right away on what the problem was. 

  
  


"You really are a fool! You love him don't you?"

  
  


Heero snapped his head around with a deadly look in his eyes, he thought he was now beginning to understand why Elves were so easily annoyed by Dwarves. 

  
  


"What I feel for anyone is none of your business."

  
  


"You were a fool to fall in love with him. Any Dwarf alive today could have told you that the Heir of Voronwë would despise any Human who had the misfortune to meet him. Why did you think you would be any different?"

  
  


Giving the Dwarf a look of disbelief and anger, Heero tried to ignore him again and turn around, but found he couldn't. 

  
  


"I never said I loved him, you're assuming something you know nothing about."

  
  


The Dwarf took another bite of his supper and began to chuckle loudly. "We Dwarves may be no better fools than you sometimes, but we're not blind. I saw you kiss the Elf." This got Heero's attention. "Yes, I had been sent ahead to see what the disturbance was, we heard your loud voices yelling and they sent me to investigate, and that's when I saw you kiss him. It was odd enough at the time because he was an Elf, but now that I know who he is, I just find it ridiculous." 

  
  


"So, I kissed him!" Heero tried to make it sound as if the Dwarf was still wrong about the while matter. "That doesn't mean I love him!" Heero then suddenly spoke much quieter to himself, almost forgetting that the Dwarf was even there. "He's right though, I am disgusting . . . To have forced that on him. I'm no better to him than any Human he ever met long before me, and nothing will ever change that, not matter what I do."

  
  


"Now you're the one who's blind! You had to have bad taste, not only do you pick an Elf to love, but to pick him out of all of them. You should at least admit that first."

  
  


Turning back to glare at the Dwarf, Heero decided he'd had enough of this. "Will you be silent! I have no wish to discuss this with you or anyone else." He then stood up and began to walk away from the prying Dwarf. 

  
  


"Have it your way, Ranger! But you do love him and despite your bad choice, you have to ask yourself, why hasn't he killed you yet if he hates you so much? I was there, I saw the battle with the Orcs before my comrades came to help. He saved you when you'd lost your blade. He could have let you die, but he saved you instead. So unless this journey you go on now specifically requires your staying alive, I'd ask myself why he let you live? And why he now sits far from you, scared to even have you approach."

  
  


Heero stopped dead in his tracks, but he didn't turn around and only bowed his head down sadly. "He saved me out of habit, nothing more."

  
  


"The Heir of Voronwë is not in the habit of saving any Human life."

  
  


"It doesn't matter, he plans to kill me as soon as you are gone, he's said as much."

  
  


"Did the Orcs damage your mind when you were attacked? Why would an Elf care about killing you while Dwarves are near. He could throw his dagger now at your throat and we would not be able to defend you, nor would we have time to seek revenge for you death. Elves do not care about the sensibilities of Dwarves. You may be a fool to have fallen for him, but maybe he doesn't hate you as much as you think."

  
  


Nodding his head in acknowledgement of the Dwarf's words, though certainly not in agreement, Heero walked away from the warm campfire and laid down on the dirty ground to sleep. The Ranger would not have been surprised in the least to have found himself dead that very night, despite what the Dwarf thought, but even that did not stop him from finding himself deep within the realm of nightmares within the hour.

  
  
  
  
  
  


*********************************

  
  
  
  


Heero awoke very early the next morning by force of Duo nudging him hard in the side with his shoe. Heero immediately sat up, but remained silent when he noticed that Duo had a finger over his mouth, telling him not to speak. Duo motioned for the Ranger to follow him quickly and quietly. 

  
  


As they left the small campsite, Heero noticed that there was not a single trace that they'd ever even stayed there for the night, probably thanks to the Dwarves, who had left soon after they'd eaten. 

  
  


Duo and Heero had walked a short distance away from the camp when Heero had suddenly heard the sound of horses approaching at a rapid pace, he assumed that was what Duo had heard long before. Pulling Heero's arm, Duo brought him to a large tree that had a small dirt cave tunnelled beneath it. Throwing his spear into a small dirt opening, Duo then jumped in legs first, signalling Heero to hurry up behind him.

  
  


The small tunnel-like-cave had most likely belonged to some animal who had long since moved away, or so Heero hoped, and it was just barely big enough to hide the two of them safely from view. Unfortunately for Heero, to fit into the tunnel, he'd been forced to crawl, legs first, over Duo. He was now lying uncomfortably on top of him with only his forearms for support. 

  
  


He tried to give Duo a bit more freedom by moving around in the tight space, but this only caused Heero to be more even more aware of the body that lay beneath him. Duo looked sharply up at him, warning him with eyes to be still. 

  
  


Heero tried his hardest to do just that, but the reality of the situation soon shook him to the core of his very being. 

  
  


Someone, he guessed even Duo didn't know who, was in the area, maybe even after them. It was too far South to be Wood Elves, and too far east to be Lothlórien Elves. This information wasn't at all what worried Heero so much. When were they not being chased?

  
  


The fact was that not only had the Dwarves already left, but Duo had kept him alive. Just like that Dwarf had said he would. Instead of killing him in the night, Duo had woken him and brought him to safety.

  
  


The reason why it worried him was that it only worked to remind Heero of other more pressing matters, such as the fact that Duo now lay beneath him with every inch of his body toned body pressed against his own in a very telling way. Heero knew it was wrong to think this way, especially in their current circumstances and after what had happened yesterday, but Duo did something to him, and had done so for weeks now. Just the thought of Duo near him made him want to hold him, or kiss him, or even just run his hands through his long hair. 

  
  


Heero risked a look into Duo's eyes and knew immediately that Duo wasn't thinking the same thoughts as he was. The Elf was glaring up at him with all his worth, as if he knew what the Ranger was thinking. 

  
  


If Duo hadn't known what he was thinking before, he was to soon find out.

  
  


Duo had a light flush growing in his cheeks from the running they'd just done, or from something else, and Heero found himself captivated by what it did to his face. Not only that, but the scent of the Elf so close to him was making it hard for him to think. Besides the kiss he'd forced on Duo, they'd never been so close to each other before, and certainly not for so long. Try as he might Heero couldn't prevent what was going to happen, he could slowly feel the lower planes of his stomach start to warm, and at the same time, his member start to harden. He knew that just being this close to the Elf would make his body react this way, and feared that it might be enough incentive for Duo to go ahead and try to kill him. 

  
  


Heero gazed down into Duo's eyes, waiting for the reaction he knew would be coming, but saw nothing in them at all, just a cold hatred directed toward him, the same as usual. 

  
  


This all changed as soon as Heero slowly started to feel something softly travel up the sensitive part of his inner right thigh. He shuddered at the feeling, but didn't move an inch, not sure what to make of it. He highly doubted that Duo was overjoyed by his obvious interest in him and had decided to go along with it. 

  
  


The more Heero felt it move up his leg, the more he tensed up, feeling himself harden even more despite himself. He knew it was wrong now more than ever, but he really couldn't help himself. He let out a soft strangled gasp as the feeling of that something touching his inner thigh left, and he suddenly felt a sharp object press dangerously into the side of his groin. It had been Duo's Elven Knife. 

  
  


Heero closed his eyes as he cursed, knowing he'd gotten himself into a bad situation. When he reopened them, there was a twinkle in Duo's own eyes, and he suddenly felt dread. 

  
  


"You would be wise to control your body when we are in a dangerous situation Ranger. If you want, I could teach you a lesson right now that would prove my point."As he said this, Duo put a bit more pressure on the dagger, enjoying the barely controlled grunt of pain that Heero let out when he did so.

  
  


Feeling that there was really no point in hiding what he felt after what he'd done the day before, and now this, Heero decided it was a good opportunity to talk to Duo. He may not live to get another chance. 

  
  


"I can't help what I feel for you! I know how much it disturbs you, but it's not something I can just make go away."

  
  


Duo had the look of utter confusion on his face. 

  
  


"What are you talking about? What you feel for me? Let me make myself clear Ranger, if you can't control your Human lust, then I will just kill you right here and now. I can find out what's happening in the South easily enough without your aid. Don't think that you're that special."

  
  


If Heero had been able to move enough, he would have pounded his fist into the ground. "It's not just lust I feel for you! If it 'were', I might be able to forget about you for one single moment. Every night I dream about you, every day I think about you. Even as you stare at me right now with hatred in your eyes, I want only for you to smile at me just once and know that I'm not your enemy."

  
  


Not sounding quite so sure as before, Duo held fast to his dagger and replied. 

  
  


"You should have thought about that yesterday, or did you think it would be fun to brake my trust as soon as you'd gained it."

  
  


"I was frustrated yesterday! Yes, you said I had gained your trust, but then you fought me on every decision, insulted every thing I chose to do, and even reminded me every few minutes just how much you despise everything about me. I'm sorry that I 'broke' your trust yesterday, you don't know how sorry I am! But if you could even know half the pain I feel right now, even just a fraction, you'd know what it feels like to love someone so much, and then be told by that person what a disgusting being you are, inside and out. I love you Duo, do you even know what that means for me? I have never even considered loving someone who was male before I met you. You confuse me greatly, I don't know what to think when I'm around you, and somehow this just makes me love you all the more."

  
  


Duo's look of pure anger suddenly turned into an expression of shock and uncertainty. Not once had the thought that Heero might want him for anything more than lust. That's the way it had always been with Humans, he'd seen it with his own eyes countless times in the past. He didn't even know Humans could love! 

  
  


But then again he'd also never met any Human quite like Heero, and as much as he hated to admit it, the Ranger had not once lied to him. Heero had travelled by his side the whole way from Rivendell, he'd saved him on more than one occasion, and no matter what had happened, even learning that their quest had been a failure, he'd always trudged onwards. Before yesterday, Duo had more than just trusted him, he'd actually respected him. 

  
  


Realizing this, Duo didn't really know what to think anymore. He slowly withdrew his dagger, but didn't put it away completely, keeping it safely at his side. He then looked up into Heero's eyes with a look that was equally intense. 

  
  


"I don't love you, Heero." Duo said with conviction in his voice, noticing how Heero's whole expression seemed to fall when he said this.

  
  


"I know." Heero replied calmly.

  
  


Duo wanted to end the conversation right there, but for some reason he hesitantly continued. 

  
  


"But I don't hate you either, Heero . . . even now! You know I wanted to kill you!"

  
  


Again Heero nodded his head, showing that he'd known this as well. "I know, I thought you would."

  
  


"I almost did. As soon as the Dwarves left, I walked over to where you lay sleeping, prepared to slit your throat, but I couldn't go through with it. I think that gives me the right to hate you even more than before, yet I still don't. You scare me, Heero. More than any other man has ever scared me before, and it's 'because' I can't hate you."

  
  


Heero looked down at the most vulnerable expression he'd ever seen in his life. Duo's face held more hopelessness and uncertainty then it ever had before, and it only made Heero love him twice as much, if that were possible. He wanted to comfort him, he wanted to hold him, he wanted to do a lot of things, but in the end he knew that there was one thing he wanted to do above all of rest.

  
  


He knew he'd promised never to do it again, but looking down at Duo now, he couldn't help himself. Heero slowly leaned down, and with the softest of touches, kissed Duo lightly on the lips. He'd barely touched him before he kissed him again, another soft kiss that was full of care and endearment all at the same time. He wasn't trying to prove anything to Duo this time, he just wanted to kiss him because he loved him, nothing more, nothing less. 

  
  


Heero kissed him a third time, but stopped when he noticed that tears were threatening to spill from Duo's eyes. He didn't know where they had come from, but he now just stared into those wounded eyes. 

  
  


A single tear escaped and rolled down the side of Duo's face to hit the dirt below him, and with that it was if Duo had suddenly lost control with himself. He started to kiss Heero back with a passion he didn't even know he had possessed within himself, lifting his head to meet with more pressure against Heero's rough chapped lips. 

  
  


No questions were asked and Heero eagerly accepted what Duo was offering him for the first time, choosing to now lay completely flat against the Elf's body so that he could cup the sides of Duo's face with his hands. Kissing him with more intensity then he'd ever dared before. 

  
  


He was lost now for good, there was no way Heero could ever go by another day without tasting Duo's lips at least once. They were the most enticing thing he'd ever laid eyes on, and he was damned if he'd let Duo go now. 

  
  


The option was quickly taken away from him when Heero suddenly felt someone grab the cuff of his cloak and haul him out of the small tunnel to punch hard in the gut. Heero doubled over in pain without even getting a look at his attacker, his breath had been completely knocked out of him. 

  
  


Before he could regain even that, he felt the same fist crack against his head, and he was flung to the ground by the force of it. He lay there on the ground, blood dripping from his temple, ready to receive another blow, but it never came. 

  
  


As soon as the loud ringing left his ears, Heero heard the sound of Duo yelling at someone to stop attacking. This didn't make much sense to him since Duo was more the type of person to attack someone himself then try and convince them not to fight. 

  
  


It was then that Heero finally looked up into the smoldering grey eyes of the young Elf Lord Elladan. He was being held back by both his brother Elrohir and Duo, but was struggling wildly to be let free.

  
  


"I'll kill you!" Elladan was screaming, all sense lost to him. "NO, I'll make you hurt so badly you'll wish I'd have killed you!"

  
  


Heero remained on the ground for a few moments, and tried to look as impassive as usually. As if he didn't really care that his supposed ally had just tried to beat him senseless and was now issuing death threats. He then stood up as casually as possible, wiping the blood from his temple as he did so.

  
  


"You better be able to explain yourself "Friend'!" Heero said with warning in his voice.

  
  


"I'll kill you! I saw what you did to him! I'll kill you now with my bare hands!"

  
  


Elrohir, who had actually not seen Heero kissing Duo, didn't know what was going on, but knew his brother was defiantly not in the right at the moment. 

  
  


"What are you talking about, brother? The Ranger has clearly done nothing wrong, why else would Duo be defending him?"

  
  


This caused Elladan to stop struggling immediately, as if he'd forgotten Duo was there. He pulled himself out of his brother's hold, and placed both his hands and Duo's shoulders, gripping then frantically 

  
  


"Are you alright, Duo? Have you been harmed in any way? Where are your horses? Why didn't you return to Rivendell? Why are you heading even more South when Aragorn has returned to Rivendell with the very news you set out to tell him? Has the Ranger forced you to go South with him? Don't be afraid of him. We're here to take you back now."

  
  


Felling more annoyed then he should, Duo pulled away from Elladan's grip and took a step back. "I'm perfectly fine and have gone south to seek out more information in the South, out of my own free will!"

  
  


Elladan looked confused, as if there was no way Duo could be fine. "But I saw him! He was 

forcing himself on you." Duo turned away from the small crowd to hide what he was feeling about the whole situation. "I don't know what you saw Elladan, but Heero didn't force himself on me."

  
  


Elrohir, always the light-hearted one of the twins, let out a small laugh despite the intensity of the situation. 

  
  


"You see Elladan, all this fighting for nothing. Duo is able enough to handle himself." He then walked over to Duo and gave him a warm hug, happy to see that his old friend was well. "Do not worry Duo, we weren't really checking up on you like my brother says. We were sent South by our father to follow down the Silverlode river and to see if any traces of Nazgûl could be found."

  
  


Duo gave a look of surprise. "The Nazgûl? You mean to say the Ringwraiths have come back? The very same from Ages past? Why would they have come now, and why are you searching for them?"

  
  


"Much has happened since you left our House, Duo. Four small Hobbits have turned up on our doorstep with a the one ring of power. The Black Riders had hunted them the entire way to Rivendell, but were destroyed in the nearby Ford. My father wants to make sure that Ringwraiths are now all accounted for and has sent us, and many other Elves, in search of them anywhere in these lands."

  
  


"It seems like a lot HAS happened in my absence, and I'm sure it is well connected with the Evil rising near the borders. But let's talk about this later, we have not even had breakfast before we ran to hide from you." He wanted to discuss it more about the events with the two Elven brothers, but had to stop himself when he saw a still upset Elladan glaring at a quiet Heero standing off to the side. 

  
  


Duo felt very confused about what had happened earlier in the small earthen tunnel, and still had such mixed feelings when it came to Heero. For the past few weeks he'd felt more and more of these feelings and had known that they'd boil over soon enough, but he had been afraid of what it would reveal. 

  
  


When Heero had confessed his thoughts, Duo had suddenly been at a loss. He didn't even know where the feelings had come from, but one moment he was admitting how frustrated he was not being able to hate the Ranger and then suddenly he'd felt defeated in front of him, but he hadn't even known what he'd been defeated by. He'd just felt strangely vulnerable and unsure about himself, and had immediately welcomed Heero's comfort and soft kisses, not really knowing that he was doing so. Yet at the same time fully conscious of it and feeling an overwhelming need to kiss the Ranger back. 

  
  


He didn't really know how far it would have gone, had Elladan not interfered, but he knew he never wanted to find out. 

  
  


Duo had actually believed Heero's words from before, and still did even now, but that wasn't the issue anymore. Duo's life was complicated enough without his confusing feelings towards a Human. 

  
  


A big part of him was overjoyed that Elrohir and Elladan were now here to prevent anything further from happening, but another smaller part of him couldn't bare to look at Heero standing there completely rejected like that. To Duo's great surprise, it was the smaller part of him that won out, for now at least.

  
  


He walked over to where Heero stood, shielding him from Elladan's eyes. "We should stay with them until our paths separate again. That way we can exchange information."

  
  


Heero nodded, not once making eye contact, much to Duo's relief and disappointment. In the end it just managed to anger him. "Don't you have any opinion in the matter? We could also avoid the Silverlode and continue going directly South if that's what you want!"

  
  


Heero now looked up, his intense blue eyes silencing Duo's rising anger at once. The Ranger then grabbed Duo's hand in his own, knowing it was out of view from the two Elven brothers who could easily hear every word the spoke. 

  
  


"I will go along with whatever you decide from this point on, Duo. I'm a stranger in these parts, and you are the one whom I chose as my guide!" 

  
  


Duo knew right away that he wasn't talking about the journey at all, and quickly withdrew his hand before Elladan could see it. Heero obviously knew that Duo was still confused at the moment and wanted to reassure him that he wasn't going to force anything on him anymore. 

  
  


"What is he talking about, Duo? It was my father who chose you to guide him! And if I recall correctly, the Ranger wasn't too happy about it." 

Duo turned to face Elladan, not sure what to think, and even less sure what to do. Making up his decision for the time being, he shrugged light heartedly and began to walk up to his fellow Elf, grasping Elladan's hand with the same one Heero had held himself only moments before. 

  
  


"Who knows what runs through the minds of Humans! Now tell me all about your trip from Rivendell, I've missed you greatly, Elladan." 

  
  


Elladan happily forgot all about Heero and walked off hand in hand with the one person he'd been in love with for years.

  
  


Only Elrohir remained to witness the look or badly concealed pain pass over the forgotten Ranger's entire face. 

TBC . . . 

  
  
  
  


Well this chapter was shorter than the rest (by a good two pages) but maybe the kiss scene made up for it (then again maybe not, but in that case I PROMISE two EXTRA pages in the next chapter. :) 

  
  


Ringwraiths: Well if you haven't read the book, or seen the movie, the Ringwraiths, or Black Riders, or Nazgûl were kings that have been so corrupted by the power of evil rings that they never died but only passed over into the spirit world, still clinging to the mortal one. They can't be seen by Human eyes, but wear LONG black cloaks so you know they're there :)

  
  


You probably won't hear anymore about them in my fic. They're not really a part of it.

  
  


Elladan and Elrohir: I did NOT change the course of the books for this. It clearly states in the book that once Frodo and the rest arrived, Elrond sent out Elves to account for all the Ringwraiths. He sent Elladan and Elrohir to go along the Silverlode. But when they returned, they wouldn't tell anyone BUT Elrond what they saw. So I say they saw Duo :)

  
  


That said, I found this LOVELY picture of them on mediaminer.com

  
  


http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=111557

  
  
  
  
  
  


Drawings: Since my last chapter two absolutely WONDERFUL PEOPLE whom I love now have drawn me pics from my story. 

  
  


JennM

  
  


http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=120982

  
  


and Kris

  
  


http://www.mediaminer.org/fanart/view.php?id=120985

  
  


Thanks to both of you.

  
  


Again, send comments because I love knowing what you think.

  
  


Sony_Mouse@hotmail.com


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